Composting and Climate Change
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Composting has received a lot of press in the last few years for good reason. Not only does the composting process produce good humus that helps landscaping or garden plants thrive, it also has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gasses, which are responsible for climate changes including global warming.
What exactly is composting? This fancy term may make things sound more complicated than they truly are. Composting is the natural process of decomposition. Dead plants, leaves, animals, food scraps, and all other biodegradable products turn back into dirt with the help of bugs and bacteria. Chances are you were already familiar with this decomposition process, even if you didn't know it could be called composting.
Composting occurs in nature constantly. Plants and animals grow, die, and return to the ground to become part of other plants and animals. It is a very good system that has been working well for a very long time. On forest floors and grassy slopes alike, leaves fall and animals leave droppings and it is all composted naturally. If you have ever thrown an apple core under a bush instead of putting it in a trashcan, you have composted.
So how can a simple process like decomposition affect greenhouse gasses? In the natural world, virtually all composting takes place in the open air, where aerobic (oxygen-loving) bacteria abound. Only in places such as the mud at the bottom of marshes is organic matter decomposed without oxygen. Unfortunately, the advent of landfills has changed decomposition into a much less eco-friendly process. Oxygen cannot freely circulate inside landfills, so aerobic bacteria are not present. Instead, different types of bacteria that do not need oxygen will have to break the organic matter down. These anaerobic bacteria produce methane gas in the process, causing landfills to be major producers of methane gas.
Methane is one of the greenhouse gasses accumulating in our atmosphere and wreaking havoc on our climate and ecosystems. Composting organic matter instead of throwing it in the trash reduces the amount of methane gas that is released into the atmosphere, which should help to slow down the process of global warming.
With news like this, it is not surprising that people all over the world are composting grass cuttings, food scraps, and other organic materials right at home. Your compost pile can be as simple as throwing organic material in a pile somewhere in the yard. Some master gardeners maintain complicated maintenance routines to produce compost faster, but this is unnecessary for a beginner.
" Put your compost pile anywhere you want on your property. Some people use plastic bins or other containers to keep it under control, and some leave it as a pile. If you live in an apartment, you can purchase a compost tumbler and keep it on your balcony.
" Add anything organic. Think fruit and vegetable peels, hair clippings, lint from your dryer, etc.
" It shouldn't stink. If it stinks, it simply needs more oxygen. Get out a shovel and toss it around to get some air in there. It might also help to add more "brown matter," things like grass and branches instead of food scraps.
The most important thing is to remember is that by composting regularly, you will keep organic waste out of the landfills where it produces harmful methane gas. This is good for the planet and good for us humans. Don't worry that you are not composting the "right way." Successfully composting doesn't require perfect technique or specialized skills. Nature will take care of things for you if you allow air and organic matter to meet!
Article by Clare Corado for How-to-Stop-Global-Warming.com © 2007