The True Benefits of Composting
Composting is not a new idea - it has been around for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations used the technique of decomposing matter to improve the fertility of the soil. Here in America, indigenous people would fertilize their crops by using manure and fish waste. However, indigenous populations were not the only ones to use these strategies of fertilization. Even today, we continue to use these same methods and have found additional benefits to composting. Composting is not only beneficial to the soil. There are many reasons why composting is also beneficial to the environment.
Composting Reduces Methane in Our Atmosphere
One way composting benefits the environment is by reducing the amount of methane emissions from landfills. The Nature journal Scientific Reports published a study that showed a 38-84% reduction in greenhouse emissions (Perez, 2023). According to the University of California Berkeley ecologist, Whendee Silver, states, “Composting still has some methane emissions, but it’s much, much lower because most landfills aren’t turned as frequently,” (Silver 2023). Landfills are one of the highest producers of methane in the US. Composting gives us hope in reducing a huge contributor of methane emissions.
Food Waste in Landfills Harms Our Planet
Another significant benefit of composting is that it reduces waste that ends up in landfills. In the US, more than 130 million pounds of food are thrown away each year. When food ends up in landfills, it produces methane gas. Methane gas is not good for the environment. Composting food is nature's way of recycling, which means it returns the nutrients from the food back to the soil. Those nutrients will support new plant growth. Also, by composting food instead of throwing it away into landfills, we are conserving space in the landfills. We only have a limited amount of landfill space, and we are quickly running out of it. It is hypothesized that in less than 20 years, the US will completely run out of landfill space. Composting can help delay the landfill crisis.
Good Soil Keeps Water In the Ground
A third benefit of composting is that it enables water retention in soil and controls erosion. Composting enables water retention in soil because compost has the ability to hold 20 times its weight in water. This is a necessary benefit in our increasingly dry, drought prone state. Due to its higher water holding capacity, compost also controls erosion. The drier the soil, the more prone it is to soil erosion. By adding compost to soil, erosion will be reduced. This is because compost increases infiltration, which encourages water absorption in soil.
Composting Is a Clean Way to Grow
One final way composting benefits the environment is that it reduces the use of chemical fertilizers (Hoover, 2022). Chemical fertilizers are harmful to the environment and humans. They are known to cause cancer and other diseases. The chemical fertilizers seep into the groundwater, and that water eventually makes its way into aquatic habitats. Compost is a great natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. Compost encourages healthier plant growth and can improve soil structure. Compost also adds essential nutrients to soil. Although compost for larger farming businesses is less convenient than chemical fertilizers, it is still a more sustainable option for the environment and should be considered as a replacement.
Compost Awareness Brings Compost Action
My LEAD Project involved making compost bins more eye-catching. We planned to do this by putting artwork made by children on compost bins in locally populated areas. The goal was to make composting more appealing towards all ages, young and old. By making compost bins more attractive, people will be more aware that they are available, and composting will become a habit.
In conclusion, there are many benefits to the environment by composting. It reduces methane emissions and waste, enables water retention in soil, controls erosion, and reduces the amount of chemical fertilizers necessary. By composting, we will be one step closer to achieving our goal of a healthier planet.
Gabe Glover, 9th grade student, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, CA
Works Cited:
Hoover, Darby. “Why Compost Should Count as Fertilizer” NRDC, May 2022, www.nrdc.org/bio/darby-hoover/why-compost-should-count-fertilizer .
Perez, Tibisay. Vergara, Sintana E. Silver, Whendee. “Assessing The Climate Change Mitigation
Potential from Food Waste Composting” Nature, May 10, 2023, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-34174-2 .
Sardarmehni, Mojtaba. Lewis, James. Barlaz, Morton., “What is the Best End Use for Compost Derived from the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste?” ACS Publications, Dec. 10, 2020, www.pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c04997 .
U.S. Composting Council. “Benefits of Compost.”
https://compostingcouncil.org/page/CompostBenefits .
U.S. EPA. “2019 Wasted Food Report.” April 2023,
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/composting