Conserve Resources!
- Keep valuable organic resources -- yard and kitchen waste -- from being landfilled.
- Return valuable nutrients to the soil and help maintain soil quality and fertility for food production.
- Save fossil fuels that are otherwise used to transport organic waste to landfill.
Build healthy soil
- Compost improves soil texture, air circulation and water retention by breaking down heavy soils (especially useful for Manitoba gumbo).
- By feeding the soil, compost provides the organic matter and nutrients necessary for plant growth and survival, and improved yields.
- Compost is mild, won't burn plants, and is a natural, slow-release fertilizer. It's great for your garden and it's free!
Reduce Pollution!
- Organics in landfills break down anaerobically, producing methane gas, a substance 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a contributor to climate change.
- Transporting compostable wastes to landfill produces air pollution, which also fuels climate change.
- Buried organics can react with metals in landfills to produce toxic leachate. This has to be removed and treated to eliminate a potential source of groundwater pollution.
- Residues from chemical fertilizers leach nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium into sewer systems, lakes and streams. Alternatively, compost is a pollution-free soil enhancer.
Reduce Landfill Costs!
- About one-third of residential waste is compostable. Costs for waste collection and disposal can be significantly decreased by reducing garbage volume.
- Extending the life of current landfills will postpone the need for costly new landfill sites.