A Dual-Trel Composter.

Any beautiful garden starts with lush, moist soil. Contrary to common conviction, however, fertility doesn’t come in a 30 pound bag from your local Wal-Mart.

With the help of a little compost, rich soil can come straight from the your backyard. Roughly one third of all waste dumped in landfills across the United States consists of garden clippings and kitchen waste. This “waste” is loaded with good nutrients—good nutrients that could enrich your soil while dramatically reducing your landfill load.

The concept is simple. In basic terms, compost is essentially result of the natural process of hundreds of different organisms (including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects) breaking organic material down to smaller organic material. It’s decomposition at it’s finest.

To compost, just collect your food and yard scraps in a compost bin. Turn, water occasionally and let sit until it naturally decomposes into . . . tada—compost a rich, earthy substance to mix with your soil.

If you’re not ready to take on your own compost, consider finding your area’s local compost drop off spot. Many towns and cities across the US are offering programs to take yard clipping “donations” for municipal compost piles. These communal piles then that provide soil for local parks. Look up your region’s parks department for more details.