Healthy Soil, Livable Future
Massachusetts Chapter | Action Group
Food Waste to Compost
Everyone eats, so we all have to handle food scraps and food waste. In Massachusetts, food waste is about 25% of the solid waste stream.
Compost is naturally decomposed food and plants. It isn’t just a gardening or farming concern. Food scraps buried in our landfills release methane as they decompose. Methane is a major contributor to climate change. If we keep food scraps out of our landfills by composting them; we eliminate that methane.
When we put that compost back on the soil, we preserve the carbon cycle and improve the structure & health of the soil. Compost adds critical nutrients that support plant growth so that we can avoid fertilizers. Fertilizers impact soil, plant, and human health. They are based in fossil fuels – in content, production & transport – thus contributing to climate change. In addition to our own composting, it’s important to press our schools, restaurants, and communities to compost food scraps.
Composting is the best way to handle our food scraps.
- Many of us can compost at home.
- Others can have a service (or their town) pick up their food scraps – just like their trash.
- Some people can take their food scraps to a collection center for composting.
Some of us have too many obstacles to composting food scraps. Since diverting food scraps from landfills is important, we all need to advocate for community wide composting mandates & services so that composting is available to all of us.
Learn More:
- Compost A Climate Change Solution
- Home Composting Tips: A Guide to Composting Yard & Food Waste
- Community Composting Guide – Food Waste to Compost
- Brookline Mothers Out Front – All About Compost