Do you compost? By Julie Peller Ph.D.

Green Junction

Composting is important in reducing waste and achieving a circular materials system, where valuable resources are maintained and not discarded. Instead of throwing away food scraps and other biodegradable materials, nutrients are returned to the earth through their slow decomposition. This enriches soils and improves plant growth. Other benefits of composting include less transported waste, lower carbon emissions, reduced chemical fertilizers, and greater moisture retention by the composted soil.

Large-scale composting significantly reduces the unsustainable amount of garbage created in modern societies. New York City recently instituted a composting requirement that mandates the separation of leaf, yard, and food waste from other trash. Residents are supplied with a compost bin, and the city transports the biodegradable waste to a compost facility to create rich soils. After determining that over a third of the city’s trash is compostable, curbside composting in NYC began in 2014 as a voluntary program. The now-mandatory program also accepts meat and dairy waste, coffee filters, pizza boxes, and other compostable materials.

Ohio State University is another example of large-scale composting. During the academic year, the university composts more than five tons of food waste every day. Wood chips are added for the right balance, and the compost is turned and heated for two weeks. The material then undergoes further decomposition outdoors for about 180 days. The high-nutrient soil is used on campus and made available for local community gardens, schools, and other places.

These large programs are challenging since not all people follow the required guidelines. In the case of Ohio State, when the university attempted to expand their program to areas on campus open to the public, they were confronted with contaminated compost collection; some people did not separate their food waste from other waste. This part of the program had to be discontinued.

Modern society has a waste problem and it is therefore important to support programs that promote circular systems, environmentally sustainable actions and to value the gifts of nature’s resources. If you haven’t implemented composting at home, Ohio State has a great website to help you get started: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-1189-99.  

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.