Workshop to Teach Benefits of Composting

Registration deadline is Sept. 15

SOMERVILLE – Somerset County Freeholder Deputy Director Patricia Walsh, recycling liaison, invites county residents to attend a backyard-composting workshop Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. or 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The workshops will be held in the second-floor Engineering Conference Room of the Somerset County Administration Building, located at 20 Grove St., Somerville, NJ 08876. A $50 registration fee includes attendance at a workshop, a compost bin and literature. Registration is required by Tuesday, Sept. 15.

A registration form and composting information are available at www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle/composting.html.

The workshops are sponsored by the Somerset County Division of Solid Waste Management and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County.

Participants will learn how to compost kitchen and yard debris into a "black gold" organic material for use in the yard, garden and for houseplants.

The program also will include a brief presentation titled "Cut It & Leave It," and other environmentally friendly lawn-care strategies.

Composting reduces the amount of discarded garbage, acts as a natural fertilizer by returning nutrients to the soil, improves soil aeration and reduces soil diseases. It also helps to conserve the Earth's resources.

For more information and to register, contact Recycling Coordinator Melissa Harvey, Somerset County Division of Solid Waste Management, at (908) 231-7109 or harvey@co.somerset.nj.us.

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