Composting

What’s that smell? As you walk into your apartment after a long day of classes, you are tempted to ignore the funky aroma percolating from the depths of the kitchen into the remainder of the cramped living room. Deciding that the smell isn’t too rancid yet, you collapse onto the sofa to bidge-watch a season of The Office on Netflix while you procrastinate writing your ten page politics paper. You attempt with all your might to be distracted from the odor, but the smell keeps beckoning for you to discover its source. Begrudgingly, you slump up from the sofa and begin to search the kitchen for the source. You check the milk: it’s still good. You check the trashcan: it was just emptied. Without luck, you check every possible place that food could have gone bad. Suddenly, you remember the bag of potatoes that you bought before winter break sitting on top of the refrigerator. You reach for the bag, shifting it a few inches, and the beast of the smell is unleashed. Your bag of Yukon Golden potatoes has been liquefied. You quickly transfer the putrid potatoes to a trash bag and quickly take the bag, at arms length, to the nearest dumpster.

You may have had a similar experience to this, it’s more likely than not. The sad truth is that up to 30% of food bought by households goes to waste. A core tenet of sustainability is reducing the waste that we directly and indirectly make; composting does both. Make dirt, not waste.

 

Why is it important?

Composting is the aerobic process of decomposing fresh organic matter into mature compost. Put simply, composting turns plant parts into nutrients for the next generation of plants¹. The environmental impacts of composting are three fold; composting limits the amount of waste in landfills, heals our soils, and reduces resource use.

As foods decompose in landfills they release methane, a greenhouse gas. When organic matter is deposited into landfills it is buried by trash. This creates an anaerobic environment in which methane is produced as the organic matter decays. Composting decreases the amount of methane produced by landfills since the organic matter in a compost heap is not smothered by trash. Methane is 21 times more potent then carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change¹. Not only does composting decrease the amount of waste in landfills, it mitigates the impact of landfills on climate change.

Much of our current industrial and personal agricultural practices deplete the fertility and overall health of soil. Composting revitalizes soils in a natural way. When you compost food waste, the nutrients that the plant absorbed from the soil are returned to the land as manure and natural fertilizer. Composting adds nutrients to the soil and fosters the growth of beneficial microorganisms, insects, and earthworms¹. When mixed with sandy or compacted soils, compost acts like a sponge, reducing storm-water runoff and pollution. Composting continues the natural lifecycle of organic matter while allowing us to heal the soil that sustains us.

Compost can be used as a natural and sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In addition to all the environmental hazards mitigated by forgoing chemicals, like water pollution and diversity loss, compost conserves the resources that are used in the production of these chemicals.

When envisioning a sustainable future, we need to treat our waste as a resource, not as something that is simply discarded and forgotten about. Managing our waste is our responsibility.

1.http://homeguides.sfgate.com/composting-helps-environment-23577.html

How to:

First, it is important to know what can generally be composted and what cannot.

You can compost:

Backyard Composting Heap

• fruits and vegetables,
• nuts,
• grains,
• egg shells,
• flowers,
• coffee grounds and filters,
• tea,
• meat and bones,
• fats,
• cooking oils and grease,
• milk products,
• uncoated paper (napkins/towels)

 

Do not compost:

• trash,
• diapers,
• clothing,
• Styrofoam,
• pet waste,
• cigarette butts,
• snack bags,
• candy wrappers,
• plastics,
• non-compostable disposable plates/cups/utensils

 

For individuals who have space, composting can be done in your backyard. Starting a compost heap is simple, but it takes commitment and knowledge to keep a healthy heap. Here is a step by step guide provided by the City of Charlottesville.

1. Buy or build a composting bin.
2. Mix browns (leaves, twigs) and greens (kitchen scraps, grass clippings)
3. Keep pests away: Don’t include meats, oils, or bones.
4. Cover food scraps with leaves or grass clippings. Cover the bin.
5. As needed, add water to keep moist.
6. Dark, rich material at the bottom of your pole is ready-to-use compost. Usually takes two months to two years depending on your climate.

More details about backyard composting can be found here.

 

Residents of Charlottesville have great options for composting if they are not willing to start their own compost heap or if they do not have the space to have one. The City

Black Bear Composting at UVa

of Charlottesville has two programs available to residents: composting at the City Market and the McIntire Recycling Center. The City Market offers a drop-off composting service on Saturdays from 7 am to noon, April through October. More information about composting at the City Market can be found here. The McIntire Center offers drop-off composting services from January to April. More information about the McIntire Center can be found here.

 

If transporting bags of compost to the City Market or the McIntire Recycling seems like too much of a hassle to you there are still other options for you to compost. Two local companies, N.O.P.E (Natural Organic Process Enterprises) and Black Bear Composting, offer curbside compost pick-up services for a reasonable fee.