Hamilton County is working to keep food scraps like banana peels, apple cores and coffee grounds out of landfills by teaching backyard composting seminars this summer to Cincinnati residents.
“It’s a way for us to reduce our own carbon footprints, and a way to create beneficial soil and movement right in your backyard, said Michelle Balz, solid waste manager at Hamilton County ReSource.
Hamilton County ReSource is a government agency providing leadership to reduce landfills through waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs.
“Backyard composting is a great way to recycle,” said Michelle Balz, solid waste manager at Hamilton County ReSource. “It’s a way for us to reduce our own carbon footprints, and a way to create beneficial soil and movement right in your backyard.”
The free Backyard Composting Seminars 2026 are happening now, educating people about composting and offering each registrant a backyard composting booklet and a kitchen scrap collector.
Elise Erhart, outreach specialist at Hamilton County ReSource, who leads the seminars, said she wanted to help reduce the perception that composting was complex and difficult.
“The importance of seminars is that composting feels intimidating; sometimes, they just need to see the basic steps,” Earhart said. “We help make people confident in composting and relive the fear. It’s not difficult. I just want people to feel comfortable when they leave.”
The seminar teaches a recipe to create great soil.
“It’s all about keeping the microorganisms alive in your compost, and creating an environment that they’re going to be thriving to where they’re eating your food scraps and your leaves,” Balz said.
Balz added that bins with only food scraps creates too much nitrogen, leaving the outcome “kind of slimy and smelly.”
She said that adding a carbon-based material, such as leaves, wood chips or sawdust, can create a better soil with nutrients to help plants grow.
She also said composting is simple and rewarding, allowing composters to create their own soil each year, saving money on soil from garden stores.
“It’s a great thing to do,” Balz said.
She added that organic waste sent to a landfill creates toxic greenhouse gas emissions.
“Methane is a powerful and short-acting greenhouse gas that only persists in the atmosphere for 12 years, according to a ReFed report’s executive summary on the impact of Food loss in the United States. “Therefore reducing methane emissions now has a cooling effect that will be felt in just a decade or two—which is crucial for limiting near-term warming.”
According to the EPA, methane emissions are 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide.
The backyard composting seminars will continue running through May 19, with the final seminar taking place at Fernald Preserve Visitors Center on 7400 Willey Road.
“It’s very easy to do. You can do a lazy composting method,” Balz said. “You just get a compost bin, put your food scraps in with your yard trimmings. And, you know, you really don’t have to do much to it. A year later, you’re going to have beautiful compost that you would go to a store and pay for.”
Balz said there were compost solutions for those who did not have backyards.
County organizations like Queen City Commons and GoZero Services have drop-off sites throughout the city, Balz said.
With these collection services, food scrap collectors are able to drop off their waste and the organizations, often with a service fee, will dispose of it correctly.
“The city of Cincinnati has been doing a great effort to increase the food scrap drop off,” Balz said.
Balz said these seminars are perfect for gardeners and those trying to reduce their carbon footprints.
“If you are interested, either from the environmental angle of reducing your carbon footprint, or if you’re a gardener and you want a really good soil amendment, I think that all experienced gardeners know how important compost is to add to your soil,” she said. “I think either of those angles are kind of who we’re getting at with the seminars.”