In 2019, 66.2 million tons of wasted food were generated in the food retail, food service and residential sectors in the United States. Only 5% of that wasted food was composted.

In the U.S., food is the single most common material sent to landfills, comprising 24.1 percent of municipal solid waste. When yard trimmings, wood and paper/paperboard are added to food, these organic materials comprise 51.4 percent of municipal solid waste in landfills.

When food and other organic materials decompose in a landfill where anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions are present, bacteria break down the materials and generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S, accounting for approximately 14% of methane emissions in 2021. Wasted food is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions.

When we send food and other organic materials to landfills or combustion facilities, we throw away the valuable nutrients and carbon contained in those materials. By composting our food scraps and yard trimmings instead and using the compost produced, we can return those nutrients and carbon to the soil to improve soil quality, support plant growth and build resilience in our local ecosystems and communities

Composting is a fundamentally local process. Organic materials are typically collected and processed into compost near where they are generated, often in the same county, city or even neighborhood. In this way, composting also supports local jobs and economies.

{{ collection.image.alt }} Total Municipal Solid Waste Landfilled (by material), 2018. EPA
{{ collection.image.alt }} 2021 U.S. Methane Emissions, By Source. EPA

Benefits of Composting

  • Protects the climate by reducing methane emissions from landfills
  • Reduces waste.
  • Recycles organic materials into a valuable soil amendment – compost
  • Recovers organic materials and keeps them local.
  • Creates green jobs.
  • Extends municipal landfill life by diverting organic materials and saving space in landfills.
  • Reduces solid waste management costs because food scraps are one of the largest and heaviest portions of the waste stream, making theirrecovery increasingly cost-effective compared to disposal.
    •

     

    Benefits of Compost Use

    In the United States, our soils suffer from topsoil loss and erosion, which can lead to water quality issues and reduce the productivity ofagricultural land. Compost adds much-needed organic matter to soil to enhance soil health. Compost has other uses as well in greeninfrastructure and stormwater management. Additionally, the use of compost sustains green jobs throughout the organics recovery cycle. Markets and applications for compost include agricultural and horticultural, landscape and nursery, vegetable and flower gardens, sodproduction and roadside projects, wetlands creation, green infrastructure, soil remediation and land reclamation, sports fields and golfcourses, sediment and erosion control, and stormwater management.

    Compost enriches and builds healthy soil by adding organic matter to the soil and increasing its nutrient content & biodiversity of microbes insoil. It conserves water by retaining moisture, helps prevent soil erosion, reduces relaince on chemical fertilizers & pesticides and improvesplant growth by promoting higher yields of agricultural crops.

    Compost aids climate adaptation and resilience by sequestering carbon in the soil and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It strengthenssustainable, local food production by using locally generated food scraps and other organic materials to create a valuable soil amendmentthat supports plant growth.