Garbage collection is getting more expensive as gas prices rise. Many cities – such as San Francisco – already charge by the can, and many more are now refusing to collect yard clippings and leaves. Composting takes care of that unwanted garbage, and saves you money by reducing the amount that you put out on the curb. According to the U.S. EPA, about a quarter of all the trash in the U.S. are materials that could be composted instead of thrown away. Most of the trash from your kitchen and yard, as well as other parts of the home, can go into the compost.
Composting turns trash into a useful, free garden supplies. Compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration, and is especially good at loosening clay soils and helping sandy soils retain water. Compost also provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the microorganisms, so you can stop using fertilizers and other garden additives. This not only saves you money, but is also better for the environment, since fertilizers are a major cause of water pollution and algal blooms, which kill fish and other aquatic species.
Did you know that trash causes health problems after you’ve gotten rid of it?
Landfills and trash burning emit gases that contribute to air and water
pollution and endanger human health. Many states have also done studies that prove that living landfills causes birth
defects. The more trash we produce, the more landfills there will be, and with the population continuing to grow, the more
people will be living near those landfills.
Did you know that trash emits a gas that is 21 times more powerful at global warming than carbon dioxide?
That gas is methane, and according to the EPA, landfills are the largest source of
methane emissions in the U.S. Trash that doesn’t go into a landfill is burned, but both of these methods emit CO2 as
well as other harmful gases. Whether or not you compost, cutting down on waste cuts down on global
warming.
3.Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. “Health Consultation: Hartford Landfill, Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut” [12 March 1998]. Available from: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/hartford/har.html [8 July 2008].
4.US EPA. Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) [2 July 2008]. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/lmop/ [8 July 2008].
