THE BENEFITS OF COMPOSTING WASTE (PART 2)

COMPOSTING is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants. The resulting for the decomposed matter in which often ends up looking like fertile garden soil is called 'compost'. Compost is a mixture of ingredients used to fertilize and improve the soil. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant and food waste and recycling organic materials. The resulting mixture is rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms, such as worms and fungal mycelium. Did you know that when applied to soils, compost helps retain water so well that it can help reduce the need for irrigation?. That goes for big farms as well as your own home garden. Composting has environmental, economic, and social benefits on scales large and small. Some are direct and immediate, and others happen over the longer term. Learn about the full spectrum of benefits composting has to the soil, ecosystems, municipalities, waterways, and home gardens. The fact that compost can improve soil is especially important since soil quality is diminishing in the Malaysia and in many agricultural areas where food is grown. One of the simplest and easiest ways to improve soils, whether that's in city parks, or your own veggie patch, is adding compost. Thia article in "Anim Agriculture Technology" I rewrite a report on the benefits of compost to soil quality are many, as you'll read below. 

(9) Environmental Benefits of Composting
Of course the effect on improving the soil and growing plants with fewer chemicals are both environmental benefits, but there are more direct ways composting can help the larger environment by reducing greenhouse gases and waste. This is an obvious one after all, if food waste and garden scraps don't go to the landfill, that will reduce how much space (and fees) a town pays for garbage disposal. But what is surprising is how much waste can be diverted with composting, and how significant the savings are.

(10) Composting Reduces Waste
According to the Department of Health and Local Authorities reported that food scraps and yard waste comprise more than 30% of a typical waste stream Almost 1/3 of our garbage, that could not only be kept from the landfill able by saving space and saving townships and cities money but can be turned into beneficial material that can replace or reduce costly chemical fertilizers used by municipalities, or give free nutrition to home gardens.

(11) It Saves Money
 Landfilling garbage is expensive and prices only keep rising because landfill space keeps shrinking. In Malaysia reported that there were more than 500 landfills and that number has to be reduced years to come for better environment situation. It was reported that the average cost to landfill a ton of solid waste was almost RM55 per ton and that price was estimated to increase to higher range at RM70 or more per ton. That's potentially millions of dollars saved by composting activities in future.

(12) Composting Reduces Methane Emissions at Landfills
When organic material breaks down in an oxygen-poor environment, like a landfill (garbage stacking up doesn't let enough air into lower layers), it goes through anaerobic decomposition. That creates methane, a greenhouse gas that's 28-34 times stronger than the same amount of carbon dioxide. And landfills create a lot of methane .By volume, the gas that comes from a landfill is 45% to 60% methane and 40% to 60% carbon dioxide.1920. A way to reduce the amount of methane landfills produce is to compost those materials (like organic matter) that create methane when they anaerobically decompose

(13) It Can Sequester More Carbon From the Air
A 2018 report found that just a 1/4 inch of compost added to several different types of soil in Klang Valley and "resulted in a detectable and significant net increase in soil carbon storage" relative to untreated soils. About 900 extra pounds of carbon per year per acre were sequestered in soils with compost added. Interestingly, when modeled over time, this effect lasted 30 years, with the greatest sequestration potential about 15 years after just the one application of compost. A study by universities scientist behind the report calculated that spreading 1/2 inch of compost over half could remove carbon from the air at such a significant rate that it would balance the greenhouse gas emissions for the entire state Klang Valley for a year.

(14) Composting Makes Use of Agricultural Waste
When most crops are grown and processed, there is often waste in the form of extra plant materials that aren't needed. A study in India found that while about half of this waste was used by local people as roofing material, for animal feed, fuel for heating, or packing materials, the rest of it would be disposed of by burning it, which is a cheap and easy way to get rid of the extra material and ready a field for the next planting. However, burning leads to air pollution and negative respiratory health effects, and it also contributes little to the soil that has been depleted in growing the crops. Using this material as a compost both prevents the negative impacts of the burning and makes use of a free source of nutrients back into the soil.

(15) Composting Can Help With Storm Water Management and Quality
As we learned in the soils section above, compost keeps more moisture in soils, leading to less runoff. Compost can be used instead of other materials like plastic sheeting in places with disturbed soils, like construction sites.

(16) Composting Also Has Social Benefits
Whether home composting in your backyard or adding to your city's weekly pickup, once you start composting you begin to realize the amount of food that is wasted and its cost. In some cases, this awareness may help households reduce food waste in general. Also, when this former garbage is collected separately, its value is highlighted and the idea of compost as "black gold" gains new significance. Kids can also learn  valuable concepts in environmental science, agriculture, chemistry, and the carbon cycle by learning about composting and engaging in it themselves. It's simple enough for even young kids to understand, and the complexity can ramp up as kids grow. This article devided in 2 segment known as Part 1 and Part 2 respectively. Thanks!

By,
M Anem,
Malacca City,
Melaka.
(Ausugt 2021).

Updated om August 2023.