To the Editor:

When you live in a residential area, there are concerns about composting. There are guidelines for this, just as there are rules for dogs and cats running loose and people piling junk in their yards.

The odor from an open compost pile can be very unpleasant. It draws all kinds of animals. These animals don’t have to do what is natural to them to hunt for their food. It is being served to them. Animals don’t have to look to nature for housing. Junk piles provide for them. I am sure that I am not the only one who has had to spend time and money in repairs caused by animals digging around foundations and burrowing under decks. I make sure that my garbage is picked up and in a covered container so as not to be a nuisance to my neighbors. When the garbage from an open compost pile is dragged onto my property, I have to pick it up.