The Truth About Composting

The most common question I get asked about composting is doesn’t throwing food in the garbage help break down the other waste? The answer is NO! DEFINITELY NOT!

 Why? For compost to break down effectively, it needs oxygen and sunlight. The problem with having food in the landfill is that it is an anaerobic environment (aka there is no oxygen). That combined with the lack of light means that food cannot properly break down.

So, what happens to food when it breaks downs without light or oxygen? It creates methane gas, which is about 28 time more potent than CO2, and a major greenhouse gas. It also takes way, way, way longer to decompose. In a documentary about food waste done by the CBC, they showed that it can take 25 year for a head of lettuce to decompose in the landfill….HOW CRAZY IS THAT!

Landfills space is also limited, and about 40% of it is currently being taken up by organic materials, partly because it takes so long for organic materials to breakdown without oxygen or light. Also, having organics in the landfill does absolutely nothing to help break down other materials, which will be in the landfill for much longer than our lifetimes.

I also have people tell me they don’t like composting because of the smell. But what I have never understood is that if the organics are going into your garbage can, doesn’t that smell too?

One tip I have for reducing the smell of compost in your kitchen is to store it in your freezer! Keep a bowl or container in your freezer and add organics to it. Once it’s full take it out to your compost pile or bin and it won’t smell at all! This will also help reduce the smell in your garbage. I also line my compost bin with paper, usually from a bag of bread of the deli, so that cleaning the bin is super easy.

In a proper composting facility or in your own backyard compost, organic material breaks down to create a nutrient rich soil that can then be used in the garden or on farms to grown food again. This means your food scraps are being reused and can turn into food again.

So, if you want to reduce landfill waste, massively reduce greenhouse gases, and contribute to a renewable food system, composting is an easy and effective way to do it!