Compost Piles: Not Just for Hippies Anymore
Posted on November 9, 2009
Filed Under Pollution Blog |
Compost Piles: Not Just for Hippies Anymore
One of the most powerful air pollutants is the naturally occurring organic gas, methane. It is a far better greenhouse gas than carbon and is now found in the atmosphere at concentrations of more than 150% over pre-industrial levels.
When people put organic matter in the regular waste stream, these coffee grounds and sandwich crusts are acted upon by decomposing microorganisms, with methane being a common by-product. This is why garbage dumps must be equipped with release valves. Otherwise, they’d literally explode from the pressure.
One way to avoid the bulk and threat of such waste is to keep your own compost pile. These are not difficult to keep, even if entire books can be written on the finer points. Nor do they need to smell bad. Many cities are now separately collecting organic wastes as part of municipal compost programs, many of which are then used as fertilizer for city and park lands.
Comments
Leave a Reply