Vermont's Universal Recycling Law focuses a lot on food scrap diversion and composting - but why? Not only can you save money by throwing away less trash, composting is great for the community, soil, and environment. Organic matter in the landfill decomposes anaerobically, meaning without access to oxygen. This process is different from aerobic decomposition, which is how organic matter naturally decomposes. When food breaks down without oxygen, it produces greenhouse gases primarily methane , which can escape the landfill and accumulate in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
In fact, MSW landfills are the third-largest emitter of human-related methane gas in the United States. Thus, composting greatly reduces our overall waste being sent to landfills, and also cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Adding compost to soil improves its structure and texture, making it more ideal for plant growth by adding organic matter. With higher percentages of organic matter, soil is better able to retain water, nutrients, and air — benefiting the entire ecosystem by creating an optimal environment for plants, and by reducing runoff and erosion. According to the EPA, an increase in organic matter of just one percent can triple the soil's water holding capacity. Middlebury College used to haul the food scraps offsite, but now have a site on campus where they compost 90 percent of the food waste generated or tons in Learn more in this Biocycle article.
Sprouts is committed to zero food waste, taking responsibility for preserving the resources that go into getting food from farm to store including the soil, water, packaging and transportation. To combat hunger and reduce food waste, in , all Sprouts stores donated more than 14 million pounds of fresh food to local hunger relief agencies through their Food Rescue Program. Sprouts also diverted another 5. Unconsumed food was separated from non-food waste, diverting the potentially-wasted food from the general school trash stream.
The fruits, vegetables, and selected starches were fed to composting worms and the remaining wasted food was hot composted, creating nutrient rich, organic products used in gardens in the community.
This initiative resulted in 34, pounds of cafeteria scraps being composted on site over the school year, and a These compost-based BMPs, which include compost blankets, compost filter berms, and compost filter socks, provide particularly effective stormwater treatment when used in construction and post-construction stormwater BMPs. The compost BMPs consist of three methods for using compost to improve water quality. These methods reduce the amount of stormwater that can enter waterways by increasing the amount of water that can infiltrate the soil.
They do so through the creation of barriers that stop the water from flowing or cover the soil completely. The three compost BMPs include:. Skip to main content. While it may be snowing in Minnesota, the temperature within the landfills is likely to be over 70 F. But composting food scraps and woody yard materials together makes sense because dryer, high-carbon, yard trimmings mix with soggy food scraps to create ideal conditions for the compost process , she added.
Seattle and King County were among the first municipalities nationwide to adopt food waste composting and curbside pickup. Environmental Protection Agency. For more information, contact Brown at slb uw. If you're trying to subscribe with a non-UW email address, please email uwnews uw.
Here are some of the reasons why: For Aerobic Compost Increases organic matter in your soil. Helps plants absorb nutrients already in your soil and provides some extra nutrients too. Makes clay soils more airy and helps them drain better. Makes clay and other soils more friable, which means they'll be easier to crumble and dig in.
Helps sandy soils retain water that normally runs through. Helps balance the pH of your soil. Can extend the growing season by moderating soil temperature. Can even help control soil erosion! For Worm Compost Vermicompost Provides lots of nutrients. Compost Conserves Resources Composting at home can help conserve all sorts of resources: Water Compost helps soak up water, slowly releasing it to plants. Energy and Fuel Composting at home not only keeps the material out of the landfill; it keeps the material from being transported too!
Composting Could Save You Money If you're able to reduce the amount of trash you throw out, you could reduce your trash bill. Composting is Fun!
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