Reply to your first post:
Something dry that can be added to a compost pile is shredded paper--junk mail. I add shredded paper to grass clippings and often can find no sight of the paper in 1 to 2 weeks--still see the grass clipping, but I bury them the next year.
If you cover the material, you would be doing anaerobic composting, that is without air. When I composted grass clippings using an anaerobic composter, I always had a smelly mess that needed to be buried--it would then be great food for the soil.
