Composting has been around since time began. It is simply the natural act of plants and animals breaking down and being intergraded back into the earth. It’s the stuff we learn in our first natural science class in school so it’s not like we don’t understand what’s going on.
What no one has bothered to share with us is that when we don’t compost at our homes and throw the natural scraps and food source in the trash, that trash goes to the landfill and makes up approximately 30% of the garbage that’s there. If we were left to naturally compost we would turn back into dirt in a matter of a year or two on our own.
If these same items are buried in a landfill it can take many years to turn back to earth because of the lack of oxygen! Oxygen is a very important element in composting as the natural breakdown of these food stuffs cannot happen without it.
So by composting at your home we are eliminating the need for additional landfill space by not dumping certain items in the first place as well as adding more dirt back to the earth quicker so we have great dirt to grow more good things. Now that’s a win-win if I have ever heard of one!
If you happen to be a gardener of any kind then you know you can use a lot of compost for the wonderful things you grow. It might be a good thing to talk to your neighbors and see if they will contribute to your compost piles? This way you are able to make more compost while helping the environment.
If you are not a gardener, contact a local nursery and see if they will take your families natural food scraps and use it for their composting efforts. Many local growers and greenhouses have multiple compost piles going so they have fresh compost for most of the year. Some even heat their greenhouses with the compost piles!
One of the greatest advantages of composting is having access to great fertilizer and soil conditioner that is free of pesticides and chemicals and all it cost you was the time to turn the pile. In this day and age when the word “organic” seems to raise the price of any item, you have your own organic compost for free.
Once you have all this great soil for free and you no longer have to use pesticides and herbicides that poison and contaminate our waterways and drinking water sources, you will be well on your way to a healthy sustainable lifestyle. This lifestyle can include wonderful flowers as well as food stuff like vegetables and herbs that can go back into your compost pile for the next growing season. Now this is what is called the circle of life!