Composting - The Answer To Overfilled Waste Dumps

Today we are going to be talking about a rather simple process which you can put as much or as little effort into as you want and all you need is a little room outside.

Composting! It may not seem or sound that important but if everyone was to begin composting all of their organic waste there would be a lot more room at landfills for other waste which can’t be processed. In 2012 in the UK created 200 million tonnes of waste, 14% of which was household waste. This comprises of things such as plastic packaging, wood, metal and most importantly for this post organic material.

97% of food waste which is generated across the United States ends up in landfills in other words 33 million tonnes of food is buried every year according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a huge volume of waste which is taking up a lot of waste real estate which could be used to dispose of materials which can’t be recycled or reused.

The aim of this post is to encourage everyone to either increase or start composting. This would reduce the amount of waste which is filling up landfill sites, as well as providing you with a source of nutrient rich soil. Of course I hope that as many people as possible are attempting to reduce the amount of food waste they are producing but some waste is nearly unavoidable and composting is the answer to this waste.

Here are a few tips and trick to help you succeed at composting.

• You don’t need one of those large plastic tubs to compost in and it shouldn’t cost you any money

• Almost everything organic can go into a compost pile. Don’t add anything such as pet waste or animal fats as it won’t help

•   Plant matter such as grass clipping and hedge off cuts help to provide a good source of nitrogen

•  Attempt to maintain a steady neutral pH this means monitor the amount of alkaline waste you are adding such as ash and acidic was such as pine needles

• You can use old carpet and sheets to help keep your compost warm as this will speed up the rate of decomposition

• Finally make sure you turn your heap every few months, this will help the aerate it and so encourage microbe and macroinvertebrate life.

If everyone was to start up a compost heap and managed to reduce their organic waste by 50% this would create 16.5 million tonnes less waste a year in America alone going to landfill sites resulting in a slower rate at which they are being filled. This leads to less land and habitats being destroyed to create more room for landfill.  It will also provide you with a extremely good substrate in which to attempt to grow your own vegetables, or if you don’t have room for that I’m sure someone you know will have a use for it.

I hope you all start composting soon and good luck

If you already compost comment below on any tips and trick you use to be more successful as I’ve only told you a few of the basics

Thanks for reading!

Check out this video!