The number one reason to compost by using your green cart is to decrease methane gas production in landfills. Many people believe that throwing food scraps and paper products into a landfill is harmless because they biodegrade. However, most people are surprised to learn that when these materials break down in a landfill, they become powerful contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Compostable materials, such as food waste and paper, decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) in a landfill, producing methane (CH4)—one of the most potent greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
By composting food scraps and other organics through your green compost cart, methane emissions can be significantly reduced.
After going through an aerobic process, the items in the green compost cart get converted to actual compost. This is then provided to RethinkWaste service area residents, schools and community groups for FREE as part of a zero-waste solution.
There are also plenty of environmental benefits to using this compost, some which are listed below.
- Compost reduces and in some cases eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers by providing a variety of macro and micronutrients.
- Compost can assist in erosion control.
- Compost creates a better plant root environment by improving the soil structure, porosity and density.
- Compost can help aid reforestation, wetlands restoration and habitat revitalization efforts by improving contaminated, compacted and marginal soils.
- Compost can improve water quality by absorbing contaminants and capturing sediment
- Compost can capture and destroy 99.6% of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air.
- Compost can provide cost savings over conventional soil, water and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable.
- Compost enhances water retention in soils which may provide greater drought resistance and more efficient water usage.
- Compost improves and stabilizes soil pH.
For a more robust list of compost benefits, click here. Get a full list of compost community events here or check our resources page for more information on how you can make a positive environmental impact today!
Information on this page based on resources gathered from the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Composting Council and CalRecycle.