Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Composting Facts
Interesting stuff. (Cross-posted to Edible Foods)
- Approximately 1/3 of the nation's landfills are filled with organic kitchen and yard waste. Likewise, 1/3 of the average family's household waste is made up of compostable material.
- Close to 60 percent of the municipal solid waste generated in the United States is compostable material. (This statistic includes paper products.)
- According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each person in the United States generates approximately 4.3 pounds of trash each day, equalling 195.7 million tons of waste each year. (This statistic is from 1990 - how much has the population changed in 17 years?)
- In 1998, the United States created 22 million tons of food residuals and composted only 2 percent of that waste.
- Of the total amount of municipal solid waste generated in 2003, 12 percent was yard trimmings and more than 11 percent were food scraps.
- If the amount of food residuals generated each year were composted instead of being sent to the landfill, the resulting reduction in greenhouse gases would be the equivalent of taking more than 2 million cars off the road.
- Nearly 56 percent (approximately 16 million tons) of yard clippings were composted in 2003, representing a four-fold increase over 1990.
- Burning leaves, brush, and vegetation releases a number of hazardous pollutants into the air. Some of these pollutants can cause cancer and other health issue.
- Grass clippings contain nutrients that can generate up to 25 percent of your lawn's total fertilizer needs when left on the lawn.
- There are more than 3,200 yard trimmings composting facilities nationwide.
- A compost pile can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit as a result of the decomposition process.
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