Dirt is great stuff: You can grow things in it, which means that in the future when the only thing left is climate change, zombies, and Terminators designed to look like Kardashians, it will be a kind of wealth. So you should probably be hoarding it like a Ron Paul fanboy hoards gold. The cool thing is that, unlike gold, you can produce your own dirt — even if you live in a city.

For those who aspire to a building-wide composting effort — which is potentially easier than keeping your own worm bin for personal composting — Domaphile has you covered.

Click through for her full account of how she brought urban composting to her building in NYC. Here’s the short-short version:

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1. Start by garnering the support of your neighbors.

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2. Try to get the building management on your side.

3. Present it to the powers-that-be in the form of a well written proposal.

4. Prepare to be rebuffed initially.

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