When I read Rodale’s Organic Gardening in my 20s, it blew my mind to see photos of gardeners standing beside enormous compost-fed plants. I learned we can actually create fertile soil with composted kitchen and garden waste. My gardening experience has borne this out. Here’s why you and everyone you know should do it:
The environment benefits because composting
- can replace 27 million tons of municipal solid waste– about 1/2 pound per person per day
- significantly reduces methane emissions caused by organic waste in landfills
- helps fight global warming
- reduces the impact of wasted food
- helps eliminate landfills and incinerators
- removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in solid or liquid form
- means fewer chemicals wash into waterways where they create toxic algae blooms
- means less nitrogen oxide that contributes to air pollution and breathing problems
- means fewer greenhouse gas emissions
You and your garden benefit because composting
- promotes higher yields
- replaces synthetic chemicals in your food
- enhances the soil’s water retention
- replenishes soil nutrients
- helps prevent topsoil erosion
- produces healthier produce
