Have you ever wondered about unsustainable amount of waste? By Julie Peller, Ph.D.

Green Junction

Green Junction

Modern society produces more waste than ever in human history. The most recent EPA statistics cite over 4.5 pounds of waste generated per day per person in the US, or over 1600 pounds yearly. Our waste varies from non-biodegradable plastics to fully biodegradable materials, such as food scraps and certain paper products. According to statistics from the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute’s website, 28% of our garbage is compostable, meaning nature can recycle it. Further, if all this waste were composted, the United States would realize a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions “equivalent to removing 7.8 million cars from the roads.”

The US EPA hosts a website called “Composing at Home” (https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home) that explains how food scraps, yard waste, and other biodegradable waste can be converted into materials, known as compost, that re-enrich soils. Diverting these types of garbage from landfills and creating and using compost has numerous benefits, including reductions in greenhouse gases, less waste, and healthier soils. For those with backyards, a small composting bin can be used. Another option might be a community composting program.

Synagro, a “recycler of organic by-products,” recently announced an investment of $50 million to expand composting in the eastern US. Their composting facility in South Carolina is expected to remove 75,000 tons of biodegradable solids from local landfills and create 40,000 tons of high-quality compost each year, primarily for use in agriculture. Composting programs, such as Cafeteria to Compost, started in Los Angeles schools and expect to expand sustainable cafeteria practices. A community food waste composting pilot program is underway in Porter County, Indiana.

With abundant fresh fruits and vegetables available during the summer, it is a great time to start composting or tap into a community program. This ensures that the nutrients from waste aren’t buried in a landfill but instead given back to nature as a means of preserving it. It is a relatively easy way to reduce our unsustainable amount of waste.  

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University ). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her Research Interests are advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, Lake Michigan shoreline challenges (Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.