Washington (GGM) Analysis | May 5, 2020
by Noreen Wise

This week is International Composting Awareness Week, so it’s an ideal time to focus on why home composting has become such an existential imperative.

• the food waste found in landfills make up 20% of US methane emissions
• methane is 84 times stronger than carbon
• methane doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as carbon (9.1 years vs 200 years), but is a major contributor to global warming all the same
• our soil is desperate for nutrients
• composting our food waste at homes, eateries, and cafeterias, and mixing it into the soil in our communities, solves two crises at the same time, curbing global warming  by cutting methane emissions while simultaneously increasing carbon sink in soil
• nourishing our soil with compost instead of fertilizer will also cut down on the pollution found in our water supply by scaling back on the fertilizer toxic run off that occurs when it rains and through lawn watering

South Korea has already banned food waste from landfills. Washington DC, has proposed the same. On October 22, 2019, the Zero-Waste Bill was introduced, proposing the elimination of food waste from the DC landfills. DC has an exceptional composting infrastructure already in place. Give and take, collecting community compost at multiple farmer’s markets in the city while offering it to residents for free at these same locations.

In learning the logic behind the composting movement, it’s now very important that we act swiftly to adapt to the changes required. Every household should make this easy transition ASAP. Once cured, which takes 4-6 weeks, adding home compost to home gardens or a nearby forest is one way to make good use of home compost. Additionally, the vast majority of local communities on the East and West Coasts have composting facilities for residents, and many collect compost at the farmer’s markets each week as well.

Let’s GO! This one is easy. ♻️

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