Why you compost

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear everyone’s stories about why they compost or participate in food scrap recycling programs.

I’ve been recycling my food scraps for several years now and love it. It makes such a difference for the planet and hasn’t been hard to do.

Share your inspo here!

[Anonymous]

It does not make a difference for the planet. But if it makes a difference as individuals, then we should embrace it. I save food scraps in the freezer for stock. That benefits me. I also grow my own tomatoes. Would love to start composting for my own soil.

[Anonymous]

It is hugely beneficial for the planet—it enriches our soil and helps to trap carbon.

Anonymous wrote:It does not make a difference for the planet. But if it makes a difference as individuals, then we should embrace it. I save food scraps in the freezer for stock. That benefits me. I also grow my own tomatoes. Would love to start composting for my own soil.

[Anonymous]

Because we have a too-small built-in garbage bin in our kitchen, and no one wants to take out the trash more than once a week. So the answer has been to compost fruit and veggie skins to make everything else fit into the one bag of trash

And then my husband uses the compost to help out his veggie garden.

We'd never have thought about composting if had a larger built-in garbage bin, ha...

[Anonymous]

we have a vegetable garden, so it makes sense and is easy to do.

[Anonymous]

We use fewer garbage bags and have great soil for plants in the spring. No effort either.

[Anonymous]

I compost at home to keep food from the waste stream and to generate some post to use on my plants. It's just one bin, and I don't work actively at turning it, etc, but it's better than nothing. It all turns to compost in the end.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how much difference it makes to the planet but it makes a difference in my garden. This winter I've been composting our big Halloween pumpkins, apple peels, banana peels, other old fruits and veggies, those beige cardboard drink carriers made from recycled papers, all mixed in with fall leaves. I don't rake up all the leaves like my neighbors do, because fallen leaves offer a very nice, thick layer of insulation for flower beds and big trees on the coldest days. In March, I rake up a quarter of the leaves for trash pick up, keep some to till into the soil as fertilizer and aeration using my spiked aerator, and the other half I compost. It's always fun to rake aside a pile of leaves to find blooming, small flowers underneath that is there thanks to the warm layer of leaves left over the winter. Gives me a jump on spring planting. People waste fall leaves by bagging them and putting them all on the curb for trash pick up.

[Anonymous]

I compost in my yard and absolutely love watching scraps turn into incredible soil for my plants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how much difference it makes to the planet but it makes a difference in my garden. This winter I've been composting our big Halloween pumpkins, apple peels, banana peels, other old fruits and veggies, those beige cardboard drink carriers made from recycled papers, all mixed in with fall leaves. I don't rake up all the leaves like my neighbors do, because fallen leaves offer a very nice, thick layer of insulation for flower beds and big trees on the coldest days. In March, I rake up a quarter of the leaves for trash pick up, keep some to till into the soil as fertilizer and aeration using my spiked aerator, and the other half I compost. It's always fun to rake aside a pile of leaves to find blooming, small flowers underneath that is there thanks to the warm layer of leaves left over the winter. Gives me a jump on spring planting. People waste fall leaves by bagging them and putting them all on the curb for trash pick up.

Very true.

[Anonymous]

In addition to the reasons mentioned, I compost because my work pays for it! Would love to see more companies reimburse composting.

[Anonymous]

It makes me feel better about produce rotting in my fridge when I compost it vs throwing it out.

[Anonymous]

Putting food scraps in the landfill means they won’t decompose. Without aerobic conditions, they actually end up releasing methane gas. It’s a myth to think the composting doesn’t make a difference…

[Anonymous]

I was appalled to learn how much of greenhouse gases is related to food waste so I don’t want to contribute to that. Plus my food scraps help local farmers grow food locally so that’s another plus for the environment and for me. I don’t garden much myself because I’m terrible at it and can’t keep the birds away.

[Anonymous]

Mine is through the city, so I don't have to do much else, just separate it out properly.

I like it because
a) my husband goes through paper towels like they murdered his family, so I feel less bad about throwing them out when they actually get composted
b) It keeps me cognizant of food waste when I have to put it into a separate container
c) ends up into some super charged compost that the city gives away. Feeds us, then feeds the garden.
d) my city only picks up garbage every other week, so it helps keep the garbage down.