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DID YOU KNOW that according to the USDA, food waste is estimated to be 30-40% of the food supply?! That corresponds to approximately 133 BILLION POUNDS and $161 BILLION DOLLARS worth of food WASTED a YEAR!!! The US, alone, is responsible for 80 BILLION POUNDS of that.
Wasting food has irreversible environmental consequences: it wastes the water and energy it took to produce it, AND generates greenhouse gases — 11% of the world’s emissions. According to the World Wildlife Federation, the production of wasted food in the United States is equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of 37 MILLION cars.
Obviously, the best approach to reducing food loss and waste is not to create it in the first place. HOWEVER, there are quite a few different ways to lessen our impact… but for the purpose of this blog, I will focus on one– Composting.
Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 30 percent of what we throw away, and could be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills.
Now that we know WHY composting is important, we can dive into HOW to do it.
COMPOSTING:
Enriches soil, which helps retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create a rich, nutrient-filled material.
Reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers our carbon footprint.
ALL composting requires THREE basic ingredients:
BROWNS – This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs. These provide CARBON.
GREENS – This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds. These provide NITROGEN.
WATER – Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development. This provides moisture to help break down the organic matter.
Honestly, this is something that we didn’t start doing until recently… why? Because we weren’t aware of the environmental and economic impact of something that we never thought twice about. BUT we are NOW doing our part– and one by one, if we all do our part, we can start to make a difference.
If you really want to be an overachiever, I would highly recommend getting a LOMI: https://pela.earth/products/lomi
You can put almost ANYTHING biodegradable into it and get fresh and rich soil as a result! I am constantly using the soil it produces for my indoor plants, but you can use it for outdoor plants as well.
