Green Calgary

Why Composting Matters

Reader Question

Dear Ashley,

Does composting organic material produce methane gas? If not, why not? If yes, what’s the difference if we send it all to the landfill to produce methane or have a bunch of composters all over the place producing methane?

Thanks,
Tom

Ashley's Answer

Dear Tom,

I’m glad you asked this question and it has me wondering whether this is a commonly held belief among non-composters in Calgary. If it is, the non-composters must be asking: why would these folks do all this extra work, collecting their apple cores, banana peels, wine corks and coffee grounds; hauling them to the back yard to be placed in the bin; having to water the pile and constantly turn it; and finally use it – when they could just put in the landfill to do exactly the same thing. Rest assured composting is more than just a great workout for the triceps.

The most basic thing to understand about composting is that when we put organic material in an open pile or bin, mixing leaves and kitchen greens together, we are creating a fundamentally different environment than exists in the landfill. The reason compost needs to be layered, watered, and stirred, is because we are trying to create a happy little environment for oxygen-loving bacteria, fungi and other micro- and macro-organisms that help to make compost the glorious black gold that plants love. When the compost pile is stirred or turned, the methane-loving bacteria are discouraged from putting their foot down and getting established. They simply don’t have the necessary conditions needed to survive. Landfills are quite a different matter.

The modern day landfill is more akin to a tomb than a compost heap. This is because the garbage that is placed in the landfill is piled, pressed, compacted, squeezed and covered, removing any available oxygen. This environment invites a completely different host of organisms – those that live in oxygen-void environments. Most notable are the anaerobic bacteria that produce methane as they eat their way through organic waste. So much methane is created that the City of Calgary writes: “today, The City’s three active landfill sites are our biggest source of greenhouse gases.” Only by reducing the amount of organic material that enters the landfill, will we be able to reduce the amount of methane created.

Now, before I let this topic go, I would like to emphasize another important reason for composting besides the need to reduce the amount of methane entering the atmosphere: namely, to restore the health of soils that become depleted over time as we take plants, crops and trees from them. Instead of discarding nutrient rich materials into the landfill, composting gives people the opportunity to recycle valuable nutrients back into their garden or lawn by creating a closed-loop system that mimics nature in every sense. It’s a perfectly simple system with an incredible number of benefits.

So, why, given all of the benefits associated with composting, is 42 percent of all waste - material perfectly suited for composting – still going into Calgary’s landfills? This is largely due to the fact that most people in Calgary do not compost, and even those who do, are limited in what they can add to their backyard bins. Commercial compost facilities in cities like Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax, to name a few, are able to accommodate materials including meat and bones, processed food, pet waste, dairy products, bread and grains, as well as the usual vegetative matter. This not only helps to divert a large amount of waste from residents but also to capture the organic waste that is generated at the thousands of grocery stores, restaurants and food processors throughout their cities. Canada’s leaders in waste reduction have become leaders by dealing with organic waste. Backyard composting is a great place to start and makes a significant impact, but if Calgary is to meet its waste reduction goals, Calgarians will have to take dealing with organic waste much more seriously.

If you want more information on getting started with backyard composting or are looking for ways to improve your efforts, please check out Clean Calgary’s Compost Guide. Clean Calgary sells Earth Machine compost bins for $25 at its EcoStore and offers 90 minute composting workshops throughout the year for just $8.

Nitrogenously,
Ashley

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