Incredibly, composting has the potential to reduce carbon emissions and reverse climate change. Watch Kiss The Ground – The Soil Story to learn more.
The shocking reality – around one third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted. That’s equal to around 1.3 billion tonnes of food, costing the global economy close to $940 billion each year (source).
And when we consider that food waste contributes around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (source), it’s clear we can’t continue in this way.
So what role does composting play in the fight against food waste?
And what are the benefits of composting – for people, soil, plants and the planet?
What Is Composting?
Composting is a remarkable process that turns kitchen scraps, garden waste, compostable packaging and other organic materials into nutrient-rich soil food. In other words, it’s the natural recycling and decomposing of organic materials.
Organic matter is broken down by living microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, which turn it into simpler organic and inorganic compounds. This decomposition process turns what would otherwise be regarded as a waste product into an incredibly beneficial resource – for people and the planet.
Why Is Composting Important In Waste Management?
If food waste isn’t composted, it typically gets sent to landfill.
Now you might be thinking, wouldn’t food just decompose in landfill, anyway?
But unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. And to fully understand this we need to look at how a landfill environment works.
A landfill environment doesn’t have light or oxygen which interferes with the decomposition process. In this ‘anaerobic’ (without air) environment, specific anaerobic microorganisms like bacteria and archaea will thrive and slowly break down organic materials, releasing methane as they go. Methane is a greenhouse gas around 28 times more potent than CO2 (source). These emissions contribute to trapping heat under the ozone layer and ultimately, climate change.
Not only that, decaying food waste in an anaerobic environment can create ‘leachate’ – a harmful liquid that leaches from landfills. If this isn’t properly managed, it can leak into the environment and groundwater.
But composting isn’t just important because it reduces environmental harm – it can actually benefit soil, plants, people and the planet.
Benefits of Composting
There are so many benefits of composting, for people and the planet.
Why Is Composting Good For The Environment? 7 Top Reasons
1. Creates a Nutrient-Rich Resource
Rather than sending food waste to landfill, composting turns trash into treasure. Compost adds nutrients and beneficial microorganisms to the soil, which can regenerate depleted soils and help plants thrive!
2. Reduces Carbon Emissions
If we compost more, that means less food waste will go to landfill, significantly reducing potent methane emissions. But it’s not just reducing emissions – compost can actually capture carbon from the atmosphere and put it back into the ground!
3. Creates Healthy Plants
By adding nutrients to the soil, compost encourages thriving plants, reducing the risk of pests and diseases.
4. Conserves Water
It’s simple – healthy, nutrient-rich soils often require less water. This can conserve water in the irrigation process and reduce the impact of drought.
5. Improves Agricultural Yields
By improving soil health and plant growth, we can encourage higher yields of agricultural crops.
6. Prevents Soil Erosion
Healthy soil is less susceptible to erosion. Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus can help soil hold more water and reduce the risk of erosion.
7. Habitat Restoration
Healthy soils create healthy habitats. Compost can help aid reforestation, wetlands restoration and habitat revitalisation efforts.
Why Is Composting Good for People and the Economy?
Firstly, improving the environment and reversing climate change can have flow-on effects for humans. We would reap the benefits of a healthy, thriving planet with nutrient-rich soils and a strong agricultural sector.
But looking beyond that, there are economic benefits of composting, too.
Less money spent on traditional waste removal
For example, in Australia the cost of sending rotting waste to landfill can range between $45 - $105 per tonne in urban areas. A cost that can certainly add up when we consider Australia sends 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste to landfill every year.
Less money spent on fertilisers and irrigation
We now know that composting can improve soil health. For the agricultural sector, this can lead to less money going toward expensive fertilisers and irrigation.
More jobs
According to a recent report, in Australia, one job is supported for every 1,550 tonnes of organic material recycled (source).
Adds to the economy
According to a recent report, in Australia, composting contributed $724 million in industry value (source).
Are There Any Disadvantages of Composting?
Truth is, there are very few disadvantages of composting.
Although, there are a few challenges we face in relation to time and availability.
Time
It can require time and an initial investment to set up a home compost – but once you’re started it’s an easy (and fun!) process.
Availability
Right now, not all councils and municipalities accept compostable packaging in their residential compost collections across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. And Singapore and Hong Kong have limited access to large-scale composting facilities. We hope to see access to composting grow in the future as more industrial composting facilities become available.
Benefits of Compostable Packaging
When it comes to diverting food waste from landfill, compostable packaging can play a pivotal role as it acts as a vehicle to carry food waste. Both food scraps and used compostable packaging could go into one single bin. This makes organic waste collection easier, while also reducing contamination (often caused by microplastics from traditional plastic packaging).
That’s why we see compostable packaging as the best packaging choice for the foodservice industry – it can help reduce food waste going to landfill, reverse factors contributing to climate change, and contribute to healthy soils.
