(Video) The Magic of Compost

Joseph de Leon is a north Austin resident and gardener at Gus Garcia Community Garden. He is also an avid composter. Sure, the nutrient-rich soil amendment that he harvests from the compost pile is invaluable to his garden, but there’s a deeper reason pushing Joseph to make compost.

 

“When I was a kid, I used to love looking at bugs and playing with lizards, and just being out in nature,” Joseph says. “Making compost brings that wonder back into my life.”

The man has a point. The whole thing is pretty amazing when you stop to think about it. Decomposition is the natural process that has been sustaining our planet for billions of years. It’s the process of breathing new life into that which has died. It’s the circle of life.

 

Yep, composting is nature’s recycling program, and for composters like Joseph, having a hand in that ancient cycle is just as satisfying as looking over the thriving garden that it produces. “Plants are just the most amazing organisms on earth, says Joseph, “and to have a part in giving them a literal foundation for them to anchor themselves in... is like being a part of nature.  My hands are there in that process, it’s beautiful.”

 

Want to use your unwanted scraps to support composters like Joseph across Austin? Sign up to join our bike-powered compost collection program today!