Food & Yard Waste
Composting is breaking down organic waste with helpful decomposition microbes. Organic waste can be anything that is made from animals, plants, fungi, or bacteria. It includes food waste, soiled paper, yard trimmings, agricultural residues, manure, and even biosolids. The organic waste often isn’t pretty to start with – but finished compost is just brown and crumbly like soil, with a pleasant, earthy smell.
What is the issue?
Every community has organic waste, and it can be a challenge to handle. The benefits of composting it are:
- Build healthy soil with lots of plant nutrients and a good, loose texture that absorbs more water
- Make a lot less garbage – by not throwing organic waste in with the trash
- Avoid making methane pollution at the landfill (where things rot “anaerobically” due to lack of oxygen)
Where can it go?
Composting onsite (at home or at work) is the most direct way to manage our organic waste. It is also great for gardeners who want to fertilize their soil. There are many different methods for composting at home.
Some communities also promote home composting to their residents. They may subsidize compost bins for their residents or provide how-to workshops. The SWRC encourages communities to use our free, online compost resources wherever they are helpful!
Many communities have large-scale compost programs such as curbside organics pick-up or drop-off depots. Aerated static piles, windrow composting, and in-vessel compost systems are common methods for composting large volumes of organic waste on the Prairies.
While composting is the most common method for handling organic waste, other options include:
- Turning it into animal feed for livestock.
- Feeding it to insects to produce fish food.
- Using an anaerobic digester to produce biogas. At the end of the process, the remaining ‘digestate’ material is still composted.
- Dry materials like wood waste can be burned for energy and heat, or to make biochar.
What happens after?
The finished product from composting, called compost or humus, is a soil amendment that can increase the fertility and water-holding capacity of the soil. It is useful for gardens, horticulture and agriculture alike. Individuals can apply finished compost to their gardens or use it as top dressing on their lawns. Municipal composting operations often use the finished product internally for landscaping, as well as selling it or giving it away to residents. Some larger-scale systems make pellets from the finished compost. These are simpler to transport and can be easier to apply to agricultural operations.
How can I reduce?
- Look for ways to reduce edible food waste.
- Leave grass clippings on your lawn or use them as mulch.
- Use leaves as mulch
- Businesses with larger quantities of food waste could consider connecting with a local farmer about the using the excess materials to feed animals.