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The Importance of Composting

Writer's picture: The GreeniesThe Greenies

Updated: Oct 4, 2024


Text: What is Composting?. Overlays an image of a gardeners hands placing food waste into a bin.

What is Composting?


Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter. This includes turning leaves and food scraps into valuable fertilizer that can greatly help plant growth. Everything decomposes naturally, however, composting is the process of putting matter into an ideal environment to speed this process up such as with a lot of worms and bacteria, so it is usually very wet. When this matter is decomposed, the black and gold waste left over is a very rich nutrient that can be used for agriculture, gardening, and horticulture. 


Composting is done in industrialized factories, community centers, and even houses, so it can be done anywhere and by anyone, no matter where they live or what they eat. 


The image is divided with food waste on the left, and a white arrow pointing to the right image, a handful of loam dirt to show the transformation of waste to viable dirt.

How to Compost?


The best way to compost in Howard County is to go to The Green Bin Howard County website. There, they have a service where you can sign up, select the sized compost bin you want, pick it up, and then they will come by and pick up your compost bin every week just like trash and recycling. It is easy and free and the only requirement is that you fill out a survey, put in your information, and then pick up the bin.


Now that you know how to sign up to compost you need to know what items you can and cannot compost. The list of what you can compost is very large. You can compost cardboard, coffee grounds, eggshells, ashes, fruits and vegetables, grass clippings, hair, fur, straw, hay, houseplants, leaves, newspapers, nutshells, paper, sawdust, woodchips, and tea bags. The things that you cannot compost are coal, dairy products, fats, grease, insects, meat, fish bones, feces, and anything treated with chemicals. Overall there are a lot of things you can compost and it's as easy as throwing out the trash. 


The image is divided with a landfill hill and tractor on the left, and a lushes green veggie garden on the right. A white lightning bolt splits the middle.

Benefits of Composting


The benefits of composting are very numerous. First, it can reduce the amount of waste a household has as many things that are typically thrown out can be composted. This helps cut methane emissions from landfills by a lot. Additionally, composting can improve soil health through its nutrients and stop erosion. It can also conserve water and reduce food waste. Around 50% of what is thrown away can be in fact composted so composting is one of the main and best ways to which a simple family can help the environment. 28% of landfill waste could be eliminated and half of household emissions could be reduced. Composting is a great way to help the environment.


This image features 3 crew members on a hillside using hoes to amend dark rich soil prior to planting.
EcoWorks crew amending the soil with compost & biochar at a project located at Mt. St. Joseph High School.

EcoWorks


Ecoworks is an environmental nonprofit organization that provides conservation landscapes while creating pathways to green jobs through our workforce development programs. While they do not have a composting program, they do incorporate compost from the Howard County landfill and biochar with their conservation gardens and projects. Check out their Knowledge Resource page to find additional information about landscape conservation. You can learn more about Howard County's Feed the Green Bin program for residents, and how it's used at the county landfill here.


About The Greenies


Features 7 students in business casual clothing leaned up against a red stone wall in their school.

This article was written by the Greenies. The Greenies are a non-profit group whose goal is to increase the amount of people composting in Howard County. Follow us on Instagram to learn more about composting and support us @thegreenieshoco.



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