© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why Compost?

Credit Hoyasmeg, Flickr Creative Commons / Flickr Creative Commons
/
Flickr Creative Commons

You may think that composting all your kitchen waste sounds like a good idea, but you probably don't realize how many things really can be composted, what services are available if you can't get yourself organized to do it, and if you do have a compost pile, which animals visit it at night, and for what purpose?

This hour, a heap of information about compost!

Questions or comments? Let us know by typing in the section below, by emailing Colin@wnpr.org, or by tweeting @wnprcolin.

GUESTS:

  • KC Alexander is an Organics Recycling Specialist with the Connecticut DEEP Recycling Program.
  • Susannah Castle runs Blue Earth Compost.
  • Chris Field is the Vice President of Harvest New England.
  • Jean Bonhotal is the Director of the Cornell Waste Management Institute in Ithaca, New York.
  • Scott Smedley is an Associate Professor of Biology at Trinity College.
  • Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak is a biologist in Sweden, where she and her husband, Peter, are developing the first facility to offer ecological burial as an alternative to today’s forms of burial.

Here, you may listen to Susannah Castle's compost-centric visit to Colin's kitchen.

Here is Scott Smedley's Citizen Science Initiative Gateway mentioned in the interview, where you can apply to identify the various creatures who visit compost heaps in Connecticut.

Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public, spotlighting the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.