How much organic material is to be

How much organic material is to be composted will ultimately determine the amount of space needed, and helps in evaluating what method(s) to use. For composting recipes, the relative amounts of materials to add to achieve a proper balance of C:N ratio are computed based on the mass or weight of the materials. Usually one starts with an estimated volume and calculates the mass based on bulk density of the material. For example, the bulk density given by Rynk (1992) for vegetable "wastes" is 1,585 pounds per cubic yard. If a pile is 3 feet wide, 3 feet high and 12 feet long, there is approximately 4 cubic yards (3x3x12=108 cu ft divide by 27 cu ft per cu yd = 4 cu yds, times 1,585 pounds per cu yd = 6,340 pounds.