Nabers Energy Assessment

Benefits of Composting at Home

Composting is the natural way through which dead organic material is disposed by breaking down the material as well as transforming it into a soil additive that is rich in nutrients. This is a perfectly ecologically friendly fertilizer for your garden. Composting in your house is the best way anyone can reduce the environmental footprint. Studies show that if ideal food wastes which is produced by the households in the UK is composted it would come to saving about 2 million tons among emissions of carbon dioxide per year. The estimate of the Environmental Protection Agency is that garden material and food wastage amount to 23% of the total waste in the US.

Composting at home can considerably reduce pressure on the landfill and help increase the pressure on waste water and water systems. The final or finished compost improves the health of the soil which is usually affected badly. Natural composting also reduces the need for gardeners to utilize chemical weed killers, pesticides and commercial fertilizers. Nearly 45% of the constituents of a rubbish bag can be composted. So, there can be a lot of space saved in landfills if the compostable substance never reaches there. The CO2 emissions would not be there if the material is not transported to landfills.

Kitchen and garden waste in the landfills are the slowest to decompose, producing considerable amounts of the harmful greenhouse gas, methane. For an average consumer, composting at home for a year can save a number of greenhouse gases which is similar to the CO2 emitted through a washing machine within 3 months. It includes the energy which is required for transporting the organic waste into the landfill.

The rising popularity of the in-sink waste disposing units that use lots of water while operating has more organic scraps of food into the wastage water system. It has led to undue and critical pressure on the sewer systems as well as treatment plants as these cannot cater for the organic waste that is thus being disposed. Ridding organic waste material in the landfills or through the waste water sewerage is getting increasingly problematic, harmful and expensive. More importantly, they lead to wastage of nutrients which can be used by the soil and environment as a whole.

Adding compost to the garden soil improves fertility, structure and overall health of the soil which has been amended. Compost is also used for repairing faulty soils and may prevent soil erosion. It adds to the capacity of water retention of the garden soil and its capacity to store nutrients. This implies fewer amounts of water and fertilizer used. This causes better growth of plants as the latter have better access to the nutrients and water longer. You should ensure the health of the soil for improving the health of the plants.

Compost tea and mature compost mulch are among the commonly used products which are used organically to control pests and weeds. This reduces the need for external gardening inputs like commercial weed killers and chemicals to manage pests. Finally, it needs to be said that composting in the house is a much better option than other ways of disposing domestic organic material. It is also one of the most Eco friendly ways of processing garden waste and food. Mature compost, which is the end product which is obtained through decomposition, offers considerable environmental advantages when it is used in your garden as a fertilizer as well as for pest control and organic weed.