In the Soil

Domingo Morales is a composter. He started a group. It is called Compost Power. He runs composting sites. He has six in New York City.

Collecting Scraps

There are many steps to composting. The first is gathering food waste (above). Some foods can be composted. “We take our banana peels, our apple cores,” Morales says. Here, he is holding a pineapple top.

Mixing Compost

“We mix compost with wood chips,” Morales says. Then it gets added to soil. Plants take nutrients from soil. Composting puts them back. The soil is used to grow new things.

Managing Piles

Compost piles are created. They are kept damp. Food scraps in the piles break down. This produces heat. Morales and his team mix the piles.