privacy

the short version

This is a static reference site. There is no account to create, no newsletter, no comment box, and no advertising network. We do not set tracking cookies and we do not build a profile of you.

how the search box works

The item index is downloaded to your browser once, and the suggestions that drop down as you type are matched against that copy — which is why they appear instantly and why they keep working if your connection drops. Pick a suggestion and you go straight to the item. Press the search button instead and your words become part of the page address, so they appear in the ordinary request records described below, exactly like any other page you open here. We keep no search log of our own, and nothing you type is stored on our systems or tied to you.

what our host can see

The site is served by Cloudflare, which — like every web host — processes standard request data such as IP address, user agent, and the URL requested in order to deliver the page and to protect against abuse. That is ordinary server operation rather than analytics we have configured, and we do not receive an identifiable record of individual visitors from it.

links out

We link to outside sources — university extension programs, the EPA, and similar published guidance — so you can check our reasoning rather than take our word for it. Those sites have their own privacy practices, which we do not control.

children

The site is a general-audience reference. Nothing here asks anyone for a name, an email address, or any other personal detail — children included — and we do not knowingly collect such information from anyone.

changes

If this ever changes — if analytics or any other third-party script is added — this page gets updated to say so before it ships. If you want to know how the compost verdicts themselves are decided, that is the methodology page.