Think you need to get your hands dirty to help clean up our planet?

Not at all! Composting can divert up to 30% of your waste while reducing your greenhouse gas emissions and producing enriched soil for your plants.

Let’s explore some ways you can compost while keeping your home clean and making the planet even cleaner.

Wait, but first- what exactly is composting?

Composting is essentially creating an environment to speed up the natural decomposition process. Compost is just deCOMPOSed (see it now?) organic matter that helps to enrich soil and create a better environment for plants. Some gardeners even it “black gold” because it helps to grow healthier plants with less resources and no pesticides. 

Ok, but why should I let a bunch of food rot in my kitchen?

Great question. It’s easy to assume that food scraps are natural, so they should just decompose eventually, right?

They would, but not in the trash. That’s because waste is packed so tightly in landfills that there isn’t enough oxygen for the organic materials to decompose naturally as they would outside. Lots of trash and no ventilation? No thanks. 

People often think of CO2 as THE greenhouse gas.

But when food decomposes in the landfills, it actually generates methane instead, which is 30 times more potent as a heat-trapping gas.

Fortunately, as people have become more conscious of reducing their carbon footprints (go you!), more are choosing to compost for environmental reasons (but that definitely shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the compost pile you made to feed some new plant babies).

Yay! More plants and less waste- why not?

Cool- I’m sold. So, how do I do it?

You have a couple of choices. Choose the one that best suits your home and lifestyle.

       1. Do it yourself

It might seem impossible (or just gross) to compost in an apartment, but there are plenty of ways to do it.

1. Keep a compost bin in your kitchen like this adorable one from World Market .
2. Keep your compost scraps in an airtight container in the freezer (this is great if you’re worried about the smell or fruit flies).World Market

The tricky part about composting in an apartment is what to do once your bin is full. Ideally, you would have a designated space or crate outside where you can pile up the contents of your bin each week, but there are other options too. Google “compost drop-off near me” and empty your bin at the nearest location when it gets full.

Better Homes & Gardens has some helpful info on getting your outdoor pile started. In order to speed up the decomposition process of your outdoor pile, it’s important to maintain the proper ratio of carbon to nitrogen (brown waste to green waste).

If you don’t have space or time for an outdoor pile, don’t worry- I have a great alternative for you. . . 

2. Compost Now

If you happen to not be a broke college student (Congrats!) or you just think it’s worth the money for the convenience, I highly recommend Compost Now. It’s a great organization that picks up your compost from your door every week, delivering a fresh bin each time, complete with a liner and airtight lid to avoid any smells.

They even track how much food you have kept out of landfills and let you decide if you want the compost back once it has decomposed or if you prefer to share it with a garden partner to help a local food system.

In 2018 alone, its members diverted more than 6 million pounds of compostables from the landfill.

It’s $29 a month for the service (or $19 for bi-weekly service), so all it takes is skipping a couple of cocktails or coffees to fund it. If you live with roommates, see if they are interested in reducing their waste too.

(Click here to see if your address is eligible. If it isn’t, look for a compost pick-up service in your area.)

Sometimes getting your hands dirty could actually mean cleaning up when you’re talking about our planet.

Now that you know some of your options, do you still need convincing?

Remember how bad methane is? Well, landfills rank 3rd in the largest sources of human-related methane emissions in the U.S. (accounting for 14.1% of these emissions in 2016). That’s bad enough in itself, but what’s even worse is that this leaked methane and more (all the methane still trapped in landfills) could be captured and converted to produce electricity, heat buildings, or power garbage trucks. 

So, let’s break it down (yay compost puns) once more to identify two of the lost opportunities when you don’t compost (honestly more, but we’ll focus on the big ones):

1. You’re throwing away a chance at making your very own “black gold” and reducing not only your physical waste but the eventual methane emissions that will come from it.
2. Landfills that don’t capture methane are not only at risk for leaks, but they also represent another missed opportunity to turn potentially harmful waste into a vital resource.

So, I’ll let you make up your mind about whether or not you should compost.

But I can’t tell you how great it feels to dramatically decrease your trash once most of your waste is diverted through composting and recycling.

Happy composting (hopefully)!

S.