Composting has always been one way for eco-minded families to reduce solid waste and improve soil quality. It isn’t always convenient, however, and has required a fair amount space, as well as ample care to deter rodents and other scavengers. There are composting alternatives available now though, that allow us to not only compost our wilted lettuce and apple peels, but table scraps like rice, French fries and tuna casserole as well. We can even do so in a controlled environment that takes little space or attention and without having to worry about undesirable pests.
Food Scrap Facts – According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food waste accounts for about 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream in the U.S., at 34 million tons each year. In addition to the impact that has on our family budgets and world hunger, it has another devastating effect on our environment – methane gas. When food waste is discarded and deposited in a landfill, it begins to decompose. During that decomposition process it releases methane gas which has 21 times the potential to increase global warming as carbon dioxide.
Benefits of Composting – Many people don’t realize it, but soil is a non-renewable resource. This means it is consumed at rates faster than it can be replaced by nature. Soil formation is a very complicated process involving many environmental factors. It can take more than 1000 years to create a single inch of soil. Composting is an excellent way to increase soil quantity, improve the nutritional value of soil for growing crops, and even reduce the need for water, fertilizers and pesticides.
Kitchen Composting Made Simple – There are now kitchen composters on the market that allow you to compost virtually all your kitchen scraps with little effort and space. Even items like fish bones and meat scraps can be composted, and if kept outside, pet waste can be added as well. These remarkable machines run on very small amounts electricity and can turn out a batch of compost in as little as two weeks. They are small enough to be kept in your kitchen or garage, and if operated according instructions, produce little to no odor.
The basic formula behind this process is three-fold: heat (generated by electricity), brown matter (inexpensive sawdust pellets like the type used for pellet stoves), and baking soda (to balance chemicals and reduce odors). The process is basically maintenance-free. Just add your table scraps, sawdust pellets and baking soda. The composter does the rest. The result is beautiful, sweet-smelling compost that can simply be added to your yard or used in your flower boxes or garden.
Sources:
“Basic Information about Food Waste,” Environmental protection Agency
“Soil Formation and Classification,” United States department of Agriculture
“Compost Made Easy,” NatureMill.com