Introduction

For this final presentation, I decided to focus on composting and an examination of the organic waste that we throw away every day. I have a strong background in Ecology, Biology and Geology and soil sciences overlap in all of these disciplines  Dirt is something post people often take fro granted so one of the goals of this presentation is to try to get you to consider your daily behaviors and what impact they have on our soils and ultimately, our environment.

Nutrient Cycling: Why Organic Waste Matters:  

When people imagine the threat of using landfills, they often consider the inorganic toxic contributions to waste and not organic matter. Those of us who are the most diligent container and electronics recyclers will notice that the majority of our trash then becomes primarily organic waste. While recycling does have a number of environmental benefits, few consider the need to recycle their organic waste.

In order for plants to grow, they need a number of nutrient inputs from the soils around them such as nitrogen, carbon and phosphorous. These nutrients are provided by microbes in the soil that break down decaying organic matter such as dead bugs, fecal matter, dessicated plant material etc. To supplement plant growth, these nutrients are added by farmers in the form of chemical fertilizers or organic compost. The food is then consumed by the general public where scraps and spoils are put into landfills and the consumed portion may or may not be returned to a natural setting through waste water treatment.

These nutrients are a finite supply on the planet. As generations of crops are removed  so are the elemental nutrients that went into the development of the plant. Once this waste makes its way to a landfill, it can never again be used in croplands due to contamination from other toxic waste materials. This will in turn make the soil less productive, requiring the addition of more nutrients to the soil which can then result in pollution via chemical fertilizer manufacture or over nutrient saturation in nearby wildlife areas.

Though a morbid point to consider, once most Americans die, they are embalmed prior to burial meaning that your body, composed of the elemental nutrients that came from the soils of where you food was grown, can not re-contribute these nutrients back into the soil cycle.

Composting expired, rotten or scraps that will not be eaten is a way of taking these nutrients and returning them to the soil where they can be used to once again grow food or ornamental plants for our health and enjoyment.