Benefits of Composting
By Macson Alameda
June 12, 2020
You may have learnt about our latest campaign for World Environment Day – Rethink, Reconnect, Renew. (Check it out here!). Within that campaign, we are hoping our members, either as an organization or on an individual level will partake in pledges that will make the world a better place. To that effect, the pledge for the week is to avoid food wastage and composting your scraps.
Composting is a relatively simple practice to adapt into your lifestyle, and has multiple advantages over disposing food waste. It significantly reduces the amount of trash that ends up in landfills, thereby reducing the amount of GHGs that are produced.
It is also a great way of completing the circle to reconnect with nature. Composting is the process of taking organic waste and converting it into a nutrient-rich matter by means of breaking it down into bacteria. It takes the nutrients that were pulled from the soil to facilitate the growth of plants and effectively, reintroduces them to the soil, completing the cycle that otherwise would have stopped if the waste had ended up in the landfill. It reduces the need for artificial fertilizers, which also curbs their production, and lessens the amount of waste generated in that process as well.
Composting, on a wide scale, can also have an impact on air quality. Waste that does not end up in a landfill is incinerated, which has a negative impact on air quality. By reducing the waste that ends up in landfills, you are also reducing the amount of waste that gets incinerated.
Composting also does wonders for the biodiversity of soil, promoting the growth of fungi, earthworms and bacteria, promoting healthy soil.Composting is also cost-effective, as it requires very little capital to start a compost pit. It is the easiest way to begin going green.
Living sustainably is a learning process, and composting may be the first step towards towards rethinking waste management and ultimately living a greener, eco-conscious lifestyle,If you plan to take on this pledge, head over to our social media channels and tell us. We want to amplify your voice to inspire others!
Confused on how to begin? Here are a few resources you can use to help you get started:
How To Compost At Home
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828918397/how-to-compost-at-home
What to Compost and What Not to Compost
https://www.thespruce.com/what-to-compost-1709069
EarthEasy Composting Guide