I will have to give the TP roll suggestion a go. Tis the season for leaves to collect on the ground so what better time to play with it. One of my friends that also raises worms use leaf material dogmatically and swears by the difference in the finished castings. I plan to mix some in this season as I didn’t have the foresight to save them last year and will have to try running them over with the lawn mower (was eye-balling a leaf mulcher) and save the $100 or so dollar for another project. How long do allow the leaf mixture to compost before adding it to your system?

A contact suggested sticking toilet paper or paper towel rolls (after the tp is gone of course) vertically in these piles to allow for air flow / keep the pile from going anaerobic (I also turn it once in a while, but not often). I don’t know if it helps, but during the ‘hot’ phase, it almost looks like smoke coming out of the tube (I think it’s just steam).

And I think your question about greenhouse gases is totally reasonable. To use another old analogy or saying though, ‘the perfect is the enemy of the good.’ Maybe there is a slightly better way somewhere to compost or use foodstuffs to avoid greenhouse gas emissions – but the ‘good’ way that people actually use and is practical can be a big improvement.

Figured out a while back that leaving the grass clippings on the yard was better for the yard, better for the compost pile, and better for my back (’cause I no longer have to turn the stinky mess that always seems to result). I’m no grass fanatic (in terms of having a perfect lawn), but the cut/mulched grass disappears quite quickly to the eye – if any clumps bother me, I make an extra pass to mulch some more. The only exception to this is when I pick up leaves to mulch and compost, and grass clippings get in there too.

So the grass sort of disappears on its own. But you can see and feel the organic matter if you get down and look closely. It becomes a sort of thatch around the grass, but part of the grass. Seems to help keep water levels/moisture about right. The lawn doesn’t seem to ever need fertiliser (well, maybe around some very, very thirsty trees, where I just add soil supplements and vermicompost).

So to circle back to the original discussion: I think the amount of greenhouse gases, methane and nitrogen etc _would_ be relevant in talking about composting grass clippings. But mostly because it is a silly step that could and should be skipped, and if done, I’d have to do more work, get more fertilisers, etc., and that would be the waste.

The benefits of worm (and other types of composting) go well beyond what happens during composting. You already referred to diverting from landfill. The end-use – to use as soil supplement that replaces stuff that would be bought/produced/transported – is another. Healthier soil is also a major benefit – that in various ways likely reduces bad runoffs to waterways. Etc, etc.

And finally, for the major factor specific to worm composting: it allows/encourages people who might not otherwise compost to get the benefits above. People can (and do!) do it indoors or in apartments, diverting stuff from the waste stream (with associated costs) that would not be possible without it. (Or simply because some people like composting when they do it with worms)

So studying the exact amount of methane, NO2, is missing the point. It’s like doing a detailed analysis of which kind of bike gear results in the rider putting out less CO2, or energy efficiency of the bike light, when the major advantage is that a biker is not behind the wheel of a car.