Introduction
You may know compost as the black gooey matter that helps plants grow, makes the soil better, and can be done right in your backyard. While you can make good compost at home, the same isn’t true for soil. For that, you need to search for “topsoil near me” and buy some from the nearest store. For now, let’s check out why you should start composting.
The Reasons
1. Composting reduces waste – Yard waste and food scraps comprise around one-third of the waste produced by your home. When you don’t bother about that garbage, it goes to the landfill and stresses the resources of the city while polluting the environment. You can stop that by composting that yard waste and food waste. It helps your local community save money and spend resources on more important things.
Composting isn’t difficult at all. You just need a compost bin and fill it up with organic waste generated at your home. After that, you spin it a few times and let nature take its course. Over the next few months, the organic matter would be broken down and turned into nutrient-rich compost. As you generate more waste, you keep adding it to the compost bin and take out as much compost as you need for your garden.
2. You save money – Landfills cost money. Filling land with garbage is only going to get more expensive as landfill space keeps shrinking. In the 1900s, the US had more than 6000 landfills. Today, the number is down to just over 1200 landfills. Even during the pandemic when cities were generating less waste due to reduced consumption, the average cost to landfill a ton of solid waste was around $54.
The US sends more than 250 million tons of waste to landfills each year. That’s a lot of money spent on garbage. If everyone starts composting and cuts down on that waste by a third, it’s going to save a lot of taxpayer money that could be put to better use. Moreover, you would also save money since you won’t need to buy as many chemical fertilizers. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone.
3. Reduced methane emissions – A landfill is a place where garbage is dumped and then covered with a lot of dirt. When that happens, the waste breaks down via anaerobic decomposition in an oxygen-deprived environment and creates a lot of methane. It’s a greenhouse gas that’s around 30 times more effective compared to carbon dioxide at trapping the heat from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere.
In the US, landfills are the third-largest source of methane gas. One of the best ways to reduce those methane emissions is to compost your organic waste at home. Composting in a compost bin doesn’t cause anaerobic decomposition that creates methane gas. Your effort helps to offset climate change.
4. Composting makes the soil more fertile and helps plants to grow – As you add compost to the soil and it starts to break down, it adds important nutrients to the soil. When compost decomposes in the soil, it adds potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Those are essential macronutrients for plants.
That’s not the end. Apart from feeding your plants and helping them grow better. Compost also adds many byproducts to the intricate ecosystem of the soil. It can increase the number of beneficial fungi and bacteria in the soil. Compost makes the entire ecosystem inside the soil more active, and it creates a positive chain that makes your plants less susceptible to diseases and fuels their growth.
5. Increases soil’s moisture retention – Adding compost also changes the structure of the soil. It makes the soil retain more moisture instead of allowing it to seep through to the lower layers. Compost reduces the crust that forms on the soil. Added water retention is beneficial in many ways. It makes your soil more suitable for growing plants since the roots have access to soil moisture. Moreover, since you waste less water, it helps you save money on your water bill.
6. Fights soil erosion – There have been many experiments that show how soil erosion was reduced due to the addition of compost. From the fields of Illinois to the highway embankments of Louisiana, adding compost drastically reduced soil erosion, prevented soil runoff, and in turn protected nearby streams and waterbodies from going turbid and harming the local fish and invertebrates. This happens since compost prevents crusty soil and helps to keep it moist.
7. Improved plant nutrition – Compost doesn’t just help your plant grow faster and fuller but also packs your harvest with more nutrition. More people are buying organic produce and the success of Whole Foods is a testimony to that. However, people aren’t doing that just for environmental reasons.
Research shows that organic produce has more nutrients, fewer pesticides, and no toxins from chemical fertilizers. When you use compost and do away with toxic fertilizers and pesticides, you’ll be able to grow more nutrient-rich food and provide your family with a healthier diet.
8. Social benefits – Composting at home helps you realize the amount of food that is wasted, and the cost incurred. It makes you more aware and influences your grocery shopping pattern and how you order take-out food. Moreover, similar to gardening, composting also brings your family closer.
As your kids participate in composting, they spend more time out in the open and learn about important subjects like agriculture, the carbon cycle, and chemistry. Composting makes your kids more aware of the waste they produce and instills important skills and values in them from a young age. When that happens, you’ll realize that compost is truly “black gold”.
Conclusion
Compost changes the structure of the soil in a favorable way and helps your plants to grow without toxic artificial fertilizers. They also help you to reduce organic waste and make your home more sustainable. On the other hand, if you need fresh soil for your garden beds, you can always search for “topsoil near me” and buy some from a reputed store nearby.