It's truly scary how much waste we produce. Just watch "The Story of Stuff" to learn more about the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It shows you how "throwing something away" does not mean it disappears.
Here is chart from the EPA showing the breakdown of U.S. waste in 2018. Roughly 25% is yard trimmings and food (leftovers to spoiled produce), which is ~70 million tons per year. And of that food waste generated ~68% —or about 42.8 million tons-- ended up in landfills or combustion facilities. Instead of sending all of that waste to landfills where we're running out of room and producing a lot of methane gas, we should compost.
What is compost?
Compost is decayed organic matter that mixes together and decomposes over a period of weeks and months to create nutrient rich fertilizer. For best results, your compost mass should to be a mix of waste that is nitrogen-rich, or “greens:” food scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and carbon-rich, or “browns:” leaf mulch, straw, twigs.
I always thought it was just fruits and vegetables, but turns out we can compost a lot of different things.
What to Compost :
- Animal manure from herbivores (not meat-eaters like dogs or cats)
- Cardboard rolls, cereal boxes, brown paper bags
- Clean paper
- Paper towels
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Cotton and wool rags
- Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
- Crushed eggshells (but not eggs)
- Fireplace ashes
- Fruits and vegetables
- Grass clippings, yard trimmings
- Hair and fur
- Hay and straw
- Houseplants
- Leaves
- Nut shells
- Seaweed (rinse off saltwater)
- Shredded newspaper
- Tea and tea bags
- Wood chips, sawdust, toothpicks, burnt matches
What NOT to Compost And Why :
- Meat, fish, egg or poultry scraps (odor problems and pests)
- Dairy products (odor problems and pests)
- Fats, grease, lard or oils (odor problems and pests)
- Coal or charcoal ash (contains substances harmful to plants)
- Diseased or insect-ridden plants (diseases or insects might spread)
- Pet wastes (dog or cat feces, cat litter) (might contain parasites or germs)
- Yard trimmings treated with pesticides (might kill composting organisms)
- Black walnut tree leaves or twigs (substances harmful to plants)
How should I store my food scraps?
I store mine in a bag in the freezer to prevent odors. But you can also use reusable containers or you can buy compost containers for your kitchen. Or if you have a garden, you can buy a larger outdoor container for storing or creating your own compost.
Why is composting important?
- When the food in your trash goes to a landfill, it emits methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. So composting reduces methane emissions.
- Saves energy from transporting less heavy garbage bags to landfills.
- Saves space in the landfills which are about to run out of room.
- Lowers your carbon footprint.
- Enriches soil, helping retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
- Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers which are bad for the environment.
- Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material.
- According to the EPA, compost is also capable of capturing and eliminating 99.6 percent of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, from the air.
- Compost boosts water retention in soil, which means the budding plants in that soil need less irrigation. It also tends to facilitate bigger crop yields, giving food producers a better harvest.
How can you compost in NYC?
According to the DSNY, one third of what New Yorkers throw away is food scraps and yard waste. Even though NYC government made budget cuts to the Compost Program, there are still many ways you can compost!
- The Compost Program has re-opened 15 food scrap drop-off sites serving 4 thousand regular weekly participants, diverting over 30 thousand pounds of food scraps from landfills each week: to find your closest location, click here.
- If you'd like to hire a service to pick up your compost, click here.
- If you have your own garden, and want to make your own compost, click here.
- If you live near a community garden, find out if they accept donations!
- If you're a business or school, click here.
- If you do not have space for an outdoor compost pile, you can compost materials indoors using a special type of bin, which you can buy at a local hardware store, gardening supplies store, or make yourself.
I now keep all food scraps, tea leaves and used matches in a bag in the freezer and each week, have a nice walk to the drop off location at the UWS green market. Visually, it is helpful to see how much waste and the different kinds of waste we are producing. Also physically, the more we waste, the heavier the bag is at the end of the week (for my boyfriend to carry). The whole process really makes you think twice. Check out my TikTok here.
Please comment below where, why and how YOU're composting!
xx
Hannah