Composting Food Waste

BACK TO THE DIRT

THE NEW YORK CITY COMPOSTING PROJECT, HOSTED AT QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN, GIVES THE COMMUNITY A CHANCE TO POSITIVELY AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT BY PUTTING THEIR FOOD WASTE BACK INTO THE EARTH INSTEAD OF IN A LANDFILL. by Rebecca Williams

The earthy scent of oranges and sawdust swept through the air at Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) on a Monday morning in March. Volunteers and staff gathered around a pile of food waste and scraps, chopped it to bits with shovels and laughed. The group became a community, centered around their sense of accomplishment and their passion for bettering New York’s environment. "They come together because of their interest in working outside,” said Chelsea Encababian, QBG’s compost project manager. “They come together because of their interest in climate change issues, trying to revitalize soils, just wanting to have fun.”

Although composting can be fun, the environmental and fiscal effects of mass food waste are not.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Agriculture Economics, the average American household wastes 31.9% of their food, estimated to have a total cost of $240 billion or $1,866 per household.

The food waste doesn’t solely extend to households, but to companies as well. The same study found that 72 billion pounds of food are wasted before it’s even sold because of appearance, irregular size or any damage that occurred during shipping.

Many Americans don’t think much about food waste or its consequences. Banana peels and eggshells being tossed into the kitchen trash after breakfast is not unusual and often not given a second thought. However, those scraps don’t just decompose in a landfill.

Food waste emits methane, a greenhouse gas that accounts for 30% of global warming according to the United Nations Environment Programme. This air pollutant causes one million premature deaths per year.

These statistics may seem overwhelming and intimidating, but that’s where composting comes in.

“It’s kind of hard to grapple with the levity of such an issue,” said Encababian. “And what’s so powerful about composting is that it is a real, tangible and also short term way that you can make a huge impact

“IT MAKES MY TRASH MUCH LESS SMELLY. I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT TO OTHERS.”

- Mika Hawley

Volunteer

in your community and divert food scraps from landfills.”

Composting breaks down waste using an aerobic process, which greatly reduces harmful methane production. Food waste creates gas it decomposes no matter the method. But, by exposing the waste to oxygen during the aerobic process, you can decrease the methane levels and increase the carbon dioxide levels. Methane is 28 to 36 times more harmfull than carbon dioxide to our atmosphere, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a landfill, food waste decomposes in an anaerobic process. This means no oxygen is introduced and the waste suffocates, producing methane and warming our planet. Landfills account for 14.1% of all human-related methane emissions.

By composting, not only can we greatly reduce our methane emissions, but also we can save resources. According to the EPA, enough water and energy to supply 50 million homes goes into a year of food waste in the U.S.

Composting can also assist the quality of our soil. Rick Carr, the farm director and previously the compost production specialist at Rodale Institute, works on a 333-acre research farm where waste is turned to compost for the soil.

“We are reducing our need for synthetic fertilizers, which are very costly to produce and have their own environmental impact," said Carr. "We don’t have to use the synthetic fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphorus and potassium as much or at all."

Queens Botanical Garden emphasizes a similar “closed-loop cycle,” where all horticulture waste from the gardens, along with food waste from community members, is used in the compost. Some of that compost is then reused in the garden’s soil as a fertilizer, while the rest of the compost is distributed to the com-

Volunteers use pitchforks to thoroughly mix a combination of food scraps, horticulture waste, sawdust and water. Photo by Rebecca Williams

munity to be used in their gardens.

Composting benefits the entire community, atmosphere and Earth. This is why QBG prioritizes educating the public on composting in a hands-on and engaging way.

“We have workshops ranging from a lot of different topics that really go into detail about composting and also that are fun,” said Encababian. “Like we have painting with food scraps…we have classes on meet your fungi, meet your microbes…all of our adult programs are very hands-on.”

The Queens Botanical Garden partnered with the Department of Sanitation to begin the NYC Compost Project (NYCCP) in 1993. This was revolutionary, as it was the first partnership of its kind to focus on outreach and education for New Yorkers regarding composting.

For the next 29 years, QBG hosted the NYCCP and continued to facilitate its growth within the community. In 2019, the organization had 578 volunteers working with the project. They reached more than 12,000 people during outreach events and activities.

In the last fiscal year, the NYCCP, along with zero waste partners, received $7 million in funding. However, in new budget proposals for New York’s 2023 fiscal year, that budget is cut in half to $3.5 million.

“In the next few weeks, you’ll see 'save our compost,' talking about reaching out to folks to testify, give written testimonies, verbal testimonies, speaking on behalf of compost, the importance of the funding,” said Encababian.

Composting, a real solution to reducing human-caused emissions, is becoming more popular in many communities. According to the EPA, composted food waste increased from 23.4 million tons in 2015 to 24.9 million tons in 2018. Secured funding for composting sites, such as the NYCCP, is needed to support this increase.

As Queens Botanical Garden continues to pursue its goal of education through hands-on workshops and volunteer days, the number of composters in the city is expected to grow alongside it. A study commissioned by the National Waste and Recycling Association revealed that 67% of non-composters would be willing to make the switch if it were more convenient.

The good news is that composting can be convenient and done easily in your home or apartment. If you don’t have access to an outdoor space, you can store food scraps in a dedicated area of your freezer until you are able to take it to a community drop-off station or directly to an organization, like QBG. By keeping them in the freezer, you don’t have to worry about smell or bugs.

Composting is easy to understand, and QBG strives to promote adding it into your daily routine.

“We make sure that this information on composting is accessible and that you can bring it home and feel confident enough to bring it home,” said Encababian. “Education is key for us at QBG.”

A volunteer at QBG sifts the final compost pile, atop a PVC pipe dotted in holes. This will allow oxygen to be distributed throughout the compost. Photos by Rebecca Williams