Compost vs Landfill: Does it Really Make a Difference?

Robin Shreeves — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:03:39 +0000

Last week I wrote a post about curbside composting programs that some cities have started. One of the benefits of keeping compostable food out of landfills, I wrote, is that it reduces landfill methane - a greenhouse gas that is 72% more powerful than carbon dioxide.

One of the readers, Dean, posed a question in the comments.

Does this actually reduce methane emissions? It seems, based on the lack of detail in the article, that the same amount of methane would be produced whether the organic waste was sitting in a compost pile or a landfill. Why wouldn’t that be true?

This is a good question, and I thought it deserved to be answered in a post instead of just a reply in the comments section.

Curbside Composting: A Valuable Community Service

Robin Shreeves — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:41:26 +0000

This past spring, my family and I were able to get all the compost we needed for our vegetable garden from a local community’s compost pile at their department of public works. The compost was created from all of the leaves and yard clippings that had been collected curbside. Many communities collect leaves, clippings and other outside organic matter to turn into compost, but some communities are taking it a step further.

Cities such as San Francisco, Minneapolis, Toronto, and Boulder all have programs in place that allow residents to place food scraps curbside to be turned into compost.

Food that is mixed in with regular trash is estimated to make up about 40% of the trash in landfills. It also is the biggest offender in creating landfill methane which is a powerful greenhouse gas - 72 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Reducing landfill methane is just one of the benefits of keeping this type of waste out of landfills.

According to San Francisco’s environmental site

Green Options » landfill methane

Compost vs Landfill: Does it Really Make a Difference?

Curbside Composting: A Valuable Community Service