Why Should I Compost?
There are many reasons Farmer Pirates is passionate about composting. A few of our favorites include how it fights to reduce climate change, supports local communities both economically and socially, improves soils and reduces trash in landfills. Read below to learn more about each.
In the U.S., food is the single most common material sent to landfills, comprising 24.1 percent of municipal solid waste. When yard trimmings, wood, and paper or paperboard are added to food, these organic materials comprise 51.4 percent of municipal solid waste in landfills.
Food scraps decomposing in landfills causes the release of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. When looking at human-related emissions, landfills are the third largest source, with food scraps making up 58 percent of landfill methane emissions.
Depressing? Yeah. We know.
But that’s where composting and Farmer Pirates sails in to shed some light and hope!
We like reframe how food scraps are viewed. Often, they are thought of as trash, but really they’re a resource that still holds value and can be recycled into something beneficial in many ways: Compost.
We broke down some of our favorite benefits of composting below to highlight what pushes our Farmer Pirates Compost Crew onward and hope you come aboard by beginning to compost.
Composting Reduces the trash you send to landfills
Food scraps in landfills = release of harmful greenhouse gases. No thanks! Composting food scraps instead helps recycle them into a natural fertilizer. Remember, food scraps are not trash! Help us save them from scary landfills.
Composting Fights climate change
Greenhouse gases produced from rotting food contribute to climate change. Composting helps keep those gases from entering our atmosphere!
Composting Supports local communities economically
Keeping food scraps local instead of sending them to landfills outside of our communities helps keep the resource—which has value behind it—local as well. We compost these food scraps right here in Buffalo and sell the finished compost back to our local farmers and gardeners, helping benefit each other. Composting also creates new jobs: Hello, Farmer Pirates Compost crew!
Composting Supports local communities socially
Less trash in landfills means less pollutants in our air. Increasing access to compost in our area leads to us helping revitalize our soils and producing more nutritious produce, empowering communities—whether it is individually at our homes or in our local farms.
Composting improves our soils
Oh do we have lots to say here but we will keep it brief. Know how we sometimes need a little boost? Well, so do our soils—especially those in cities. Adding compost to soils improves soil structure, eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, increases soil microbial activity, allows higher water holding capacity, reduces erosion, provides nutrients for more healthy plant and food growth and even more… but those are the big ones.
