Beginner’s Guide: What You Can Compost (and Why it Matters)
Composting (the use of organic materials to enrich soil) is more than just a gardening tip - this agricultural practice can actually help us fight back against the harmful effects of climate change!
By reducing food waste and preventing greenhouse gas emissions, composting plays a small but crucial role in both municipal and individual (personal) climate strategies. Climate change is no distant threat either - it’s already having a profoundly negative impact across the United States.
In regions that are susceptible to climate extremes, like California, these effects are especially pronounced. According to Calrecycle, the state has suffered historic droughts, devastating fire seasons, “record-breaking heat”, and depleted groundwater as a result of drastic shifts in the Earth’s climate.
Though corporate responsibility (and negligence) definitely play a role, we as citizens should be looking to adopt as many sustainable habits as we can.
Composting is a perfect example.
In short, composting serves as a way to lessen food waste while also providing nutrients directly to soil.
To start a ‘compost pile’, organic waste like produce scraps (apple cores, lettuce knobs, orange peels, etc.), grass clippings, leaves, and sticks, can be left together in a moist pile to decompose. When the waste eventually breaks down, it creates a dark, soil-like substance that can then be added to actual soil as a fertilizer.
Many jurisdictions across California (and the U.S.) offer municipal composting programs, but compost piles can also be created at home, even if you don’t have access to a large outdoor space.
According to Healthline, compost piles “should be at least 3 feet in width and height”, kept in a location away from scavenging animals and insects, and ideally placed in a location where the pile can absorb moisture from the rain (or by hand watering).
There are also several types of waste that do not go in compost - as they decompose too slowly, have a high chance of attracting pests, and/or do not meaningfully contribute to the nutrient profile of the compost. Iowa State University’s “Small Farm Sustainability” blog notes that some of these items include dairy, meat bones, grease/oil, pet waste, and diseased plants.
How Can Composting Help Fight Climate Change?
One of the most impactful benefits of composting is its ability to act as a natural fertilizer that boosts carbon storage in soil. This process, called carbon sequestration, traps airborne carbon in the ground instead of allowing it to pollute the atmosphere.
Composting also diverts food scraps and other organic waste away from landfills.
When organic material breaks down in a landfill (without oxygen or proper moisture) it releases large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that heats our climate more than 80 times than that of carbon dioxide.
By composting this waste instead, you are directly avoiding contributing to this type of methane pollution.
An overwhelming portion of environmental pollution is a result of large-scale wasteful practices put into place by corporations and other large entities: production-level food waste, agricultural runoff, E-waste, and fossil fuel emissions all have significantly negative consequences for the Earth’s environment.
Though we as individuals can do little to affect those processes, adopting habits like composting can help us to shift to a more sustainable mindset overall.
Much needed legislative initiatives (like California’s SB1383 and SB 353) are already underway to address some of these problems, but this type of legal action can take time to implement.
Creating compost piles is a way to act now - it’s an excellent waste reduction strategy to show support and alignment with legal action. By reducing food waste and enriching soil, you are supporting both the planet and ongoing environmental efforts.
Everyone should aim to waste as little as possible - but composting is an excellent solution for when organic waste is unavoidable.
To find out more about food waste and why it’s so harmful for the environment - click here!
Read more about composting here.