Did you know that using compost improves the health of grass, crops, and other plants, and promotes waste reduction? There are numerous benefits to making and using compost. Read on to learn more!
Americans create compost or mulch from 63% of our yard trimmings. Food scraps are recovered for some type of beneficial use at a rate of 32%. This includes:
- donating surplus (but still edible) foods to food banks
- using non-edible food scraps as animal feed or to manufacture animal feed products, and
- composting food scraps through commercial composting facilities or in backyard composting systems.
Still, many common items sent to landfill (such as food scraps, soiled paper, brush, grass, leaves, and more) could be diverted through composting. Currently, over 30% of all waste landfilled in the U.S. could be composted instead.
During the composting process, naturally occurring microbes process organic matter and destroy harmful pathogens. The resulting material (compost) is sometimes referred to as “black gold” because it is rich in nutrients and beneficial to plants.
