It’s International Compost Awareness Week!

It’s International Compost Awareness Week!

Composting is a virtuous cycle that benefits all parties involved, including:

• Waste generators (like restaurants, hotels, and casinos), who save money on their trash bill and express their environmental commitment to employees and customers. Some of our clients have saved 50% – 70% on their waste bills by diverting food waste to composting.
• Composters who create local, environmentally beneficial businesses. For every $10 million invested, composting facilities in the U.S. support twice as many jobs as landfills and seventeen times more than incinerators. How the US Economy and Environment can Both Benefit From Composting Management-PMC (nih.gov)
• Local communities who extend the life of their landfills by diverting materials. Studies have shown that roughly 1/3 of Washington’s waste stream is organic material… what a waste! Waste Characterization Study
• Farmers who benefit from increased water retention, healthier crops and decreased fertilizer use. Every 1% increase in soil organic matter improves water holding capacity by 25,000 gallons per acre. Organic Matter Can Improve Your Soil’s Water Holding Capacity (nrdc.org)
• Gardeners who are able to grow their plants with little to no synthetic fertilizer, resulting in veggies that are healthier and tastier. Organicproduce contains antioxidant levels up to 69% higher and vitamin C levels up to 52% higher than non-organic produce. Organic foods contain higher levels of certain nutrients, lower levels of pesticides, and may provide health benefits for the consumer – PubMed (nih.gov)
• The climate, as composting emits CO2, a far less potent greenhouse gas than methane, which is emitted when food and yard waste breaks down in the landfill. Plus, every ton of organic compost sequesters between 0.1 and 1 ton of CO2 in the soil. Connections: CO2 Math For Compost Benefits

BioCycle
We’re partnering with several regional businesses, from Rockwood Retirement to the Snoqualmie Casino, to support their composting efforts and their waste management initiatives.