Organic material like food scraps are currently piling up in America’s landfills, rotting and producing methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
Every year an estimated 67 million metric tons of methane, 20% of global methane emissions, are generated by landfills and wastewater alone.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the U.S., behind industry and agriculture.
That’s a big problem, and one solution may lie in composting.
Across the country, cities have taken the initiative to implement mandatory composting and are experiencing environmental and economic benefits. Composting puts organic material to good use, as composing produces nutrient-rich fertilizer instead of generating methane.
This can help stop or even reverse the fact that one-third of the world’s arable land has been lost to soil erosion, the Weather Channel reports. A nation-wide system consisting of many small, local or regional operations would also help create sustainable, eco-friendly jobs across the country.
Composting isn’t just a question of leaving table scraps separate for garbage collectors, however. In the United States, 71% of composting facilities are dedicated only to yard trimmings, unprepared to handle even food waste, BioCycle reports. Lack of funding has halted much of the progress made in the 1990s towards the creation or expansion of more composting facilities.
This has to change if a national composting program is to become a reality.
In 1976, the EPA was put in charge of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act which governs the disposal of solid and hazardous waste in the United States. Over the years, this important piece of legislation has seen many changes.
Help us call on the leadership of the EPA to tackle the proper management of compostable organic material by amending this act.
Click below and ask the EPA to support the collection of food scraps and other compostable materials.