What is composting?
Composting is the process of recycling organic material so it can be used as a fertilizer that adds valuable nutrients to the soil.
What do we mean by “organic material?” Organic material refers to anything that grows, such as yard waste, food scraps, and even some paper material, as long as it doesn’t have any plastic coating on it.
All organic material will eventually decompose but composting speeds up the decomposition process. When we speed up the process, we can quickly utilize the concentrated nutrients that the decomposed organic material leaves behind.
The key to speeding up the decomposition process is to create an environment that is ideal for organisms like bacteria, fungi, and worms to break down the organic material.
That may sound icky, but these are organisms that are already at work in the soil, including your yard. Composting allows you to make a habitat for them, allowing you to harness their natural magic for your lawn and garden.
What are the benefits of composting?
When we send our food scraps and other organic waste to the landfill, it produces high amounts of greenhouse gases.
Why? Because waste sent to the landfill is dumped into huge piles of trash that are covered by more trash. Eventually, when it is filled to a certain point, the landfill is covered and buried.
Because the organic material is buried in landfills, it breaks down without the presence of oxygen, which is called anaerobic decomposition. Organisms that break down organic material can’t survive in anaerobic environments, so they’re not able to do their thing.
As a result, organic material that breaks down in landfills produces methane and carbon dioxide, both of which are potent greenhouse gases. According to the EPA, landfills are the third-largest source of human-generated methane in the United States.
Composting our organic waste, rather than sending it to the landfills, reduces the production of greenhouse gases. It also allows us to build healthier and more productive soils!
How can you start composting your food waste?
You can start your own backyard composting process! Or, if you live in the Charlotte area, you can sign up for Crown Town Compost for a quick and easy alternative to doing it yourself!
Crown Town Compost will provide you with a bin for your food waste, and each week they’ll pick it up and leave you with a clean bin. They take the waste to be composted, and you’ll have the option to use the finished product in your garden! Tell them LendScout sent you!
