It’s a Tuesday afternoon in spring when I get home from school to find my mom bringing inside this small black plastic box with the lid about to fall off due to a stray orange peel sticking out of the side. However, it’s not the box’s strange contents that strike me, it’s the putrid odor wafting around my living room, and it seems to be coming straight from the box.
My mom informed me that this suspicious box is a “compost bin” and that we would be using it from now on to dispose of any organic scraps left over from our meals. Although I was apprehensive at first, I spent the next few days trying my best to throw my eggshells and apple cores into the compost bin instead of the trash can. Tossing away my fruits and veggies to the compost bin soon became second nature.
But where does it go and what does it do? These questions come to mind from time to time but are quickly forgotten as I’m distracted by some new task in the kitchen, like scrubbing off the rest of my plate as fast as I can so I can get out the door in time for school. Not only did I want to find these answers, but I wanted to give myself a reason to truly love composting and embrace it, just like how passionate my mom is about it.
Here are five reasons why you should start composting:
- Composting can help enhance and enrich the soil in your yard or in your garden
Ever since I was little, I have been lucky enough to be able to look out my back window and see a thriving garden in my backyard. Everyone has their hobbies, whether it be crocheting, reading, working out or, if you’re like my family, gardening. From planting cucumbers and tomatoes in early June for a delicious salad later in the summer, to cleaning the weeds out of the hardened soil in the crisp fall air, I have felt at home in a garden for my whole life.
Every weekend, my mom takes our full compost bin out to the garden, digs a hole, adds the veggie scraps, and lets the worms and other insects do their work. They consume the scraps, break them down, and transform the soil into what some call “black gold.” This compost will not only improve the soil’s health but will also help it retain more water, making it softer and richer in nutrients for the plants that will later call it home.
- Gardens are more prosperous and can produce higher amounts and a higher quality of the food you grow
Each new season means a new wave of seeds are going in the ground. It also means a heated debate between my family members about what fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers we all want to plant. In the past, I’ve suggested pumpkins, melons, raspberries, sunflowers, and every year someone comes to the table with a new idea for something to grow that we have never tried before. After we narrow down our options to the select few that we are most excited about, the seeds go into the ground.
Some years we have plentiful amounts of food, while other years we get lucky to get one good strawberry. Composting can help bring some assurance that your soil is good enough to help the plants thrive. Because of the nutrients that compost provides, it can extend the growing season and allow you to get a few more good vegetables before the soil becomes too cold and hard. On the more scientific side, compost also can help balance the pH levels of the soil, making your plants more likely to prosper.
- Food doesn’t all go to the landfill, instead it is being decomposed
One of the most interesting things to me about the composting process is about where the food goes once it leaves my house. It is a relief that it is not going to the landfill, as I know that the buildup of trash in the landfill is already a large problem, however, when it goes into my backyard, what actually happens to it?
I toss my orange peels into my composting bin and soon they are at the bottom of the heap outside of random bits of food that are on their way to being decomposed. The responsibility of decomposing the compost goes to small organisms or bacteria that generate heat as they break it down into smaller particles. From there, the compost can be used as fertilizer for the garden. This decomposition is the reason why composting is such a great way to discard (and reuse) your food waste naturally.
- You can save money from not having to buy any pesticides or fertilizers
It can be easy to become reliant on using chemical helpers to boost the growth of your garden or the grass in your yard. However, the decomposition of compost can create a natural fertilizer that works just the same as a pesticide or chemical fertilizer would. The soil requires many different nutrients to be at its prime to grow plants (such as phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen), which compost can provide.
- The satisfying feeling that you are helping not only your garden, but the planet as a whole
More than anything, composting has given me a newfound appreciation for the small actions each person can take to help the environment. Often, I find myself thinking, I’m just one person; what difference does throwing this food into the compost instead of the trash make in the long run? Though it can be easy to think this way, it’s ultimately important for everyone to strive to do their part to help the environment, no matter how small. While the benefits of composting include providing a natural fertilizer for your soil and promoting plant growth, for me, the best part is the feeling I get from knowing I’m doing my best to make a difference.
Works Cited
Burgard, Don. “Your Vegetable Garden Will Thrive with Compost – Fine Gardening.” Fine Gardening, 6 Mar. 2011, www.finegardening.com/article/your-vegetable-garden-will-thrive-with-compost. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
“How Composting Works | Charlottesville, VA.” Www.charlottesville.gov, www.charlottesville.gov/1120/How-Composting-Works. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
margo. “Compost and Fertilizer: How to Use Them in the Garden.” HomeBiogas, 21 June 2022, www.homebiogas.com/blog/compost-and-fertilizer/.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Composting at Home.” US EPA, 16 Oct. 2018, www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect nor represent the Earth Chronicles and its editorial board.
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