Composting
As food rots it emits methane - a greenhouse gas said to be 26 times more potent than carbon dioxide when released in the atmosphere. We can take measures to avoid wasting food and emitting such methane. A good strategy can reap benefits: What is Composting? Turning food waste and other organic matter into rich soil. com·post - (kom'post') / Composting: 1. A mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients. 2. A composition; a mixture. 3. To fertilize with a mixture of decaying organic matter. 4. To convert (vegetable matter) to compost. How can you compost? 1. Know that it's not easy or straightforward, but it's not hard - Just needs a little patience. 2. Get the mixture of browns and greens right. 3. Tend to your compost and let nature take its course. It's most challenging if you live in a city and need to compost indoors - Don't get greenwashed into buying something that doesn't work, get a worm bin for the best indoor composting. Composting can be simple if you have a house and some property to compost outside. Proper composting can only be achieved in unison with nature, and nature doesn't promise any given timeline. One of the best ways to compost is worm composting with red worms – these slimy guy’s are said to eat half of their body weight a day; so a pound of red worms should process 3.5 pounds of organic food scrap per week. Since all situations are a little different, HERE is comprehensive guide from the Master Composters at the NYC Compost Project. Some other important information about composting from the NYC guide: Organic materials have many different qualities and uses. Yet all organic materials have a common trait that sets them apart from other materials: They naturally decompose. Decomposition is nature's way of recycling organic matter to replenish the soil and nourish plant growth. Decomposition of organic materials is inevitable. In some situations, such as human-engineered landfills, decomposition can create serious problems. When buried, organic materials are cut off from air and decompose very slowly—even newspapers from 40 years ago can still be found relatively intact in landfills. Decomposition in the absence of air—or anaerobic decomposition—produces methane gas. Methane can build up in landfills or migrate underground to nearby buildings, creating the danger of explosion. As rain or groundwater percolates through the landfill, weak acids produced by decaying organic matter wash through the landfill and react with the other trash, creating a potentially toxic leachate that can contaminate groundwater, lakes, and streams. The systems designed to capture methane gas and collect leachate make landfills expensive to build and operate. However, when organic materials are separated from trash and allowed to decompose with an adequate amount of air supply—or aerobically—they can be turned into compost, a valuable resource. When used in gardens and parks, compost helps to make soil loose and well-drained, provides plants with valuable nutrients, protects soil from erosion and compaction, and conserves water and other resources. New York City Compost Project. Take the Challenge to compost..
