EcoFaith in Action

Composting has gained a lot of popularity recently–so what’s the big deal about piles of smelly, soily sludge? Why should people of faith care about it? If food scraps and yardwork scraps are going to break down anyway, why does it matter where it happens?

Composting is what we call a ‘closed-loop’ system; rather than creating waste and excess, composting takes something ‘useless’ (smelly, soily sludge) and creates something wonderfully ‘useful.’ Organic scraps such as trimmed grass, potato peels, coffee grounds, moldy strawberries, leaves–you name it–will naturally decompose. When we compost, rather than having decomposition release greenhouse gases (CO2 and methane) in a landfill or yard waste drop-off site, we harness the decomposition. Greenhouse gases don’t just pileup from car tailpipes–excess tilling of soil, the millions of food scraps we throw away every year in the US–these contribute a lot to the overheating of God’s Earth, too. As people of faith, we’re called to walk gently and honor present and future generations. Through attention and care, decomposition through composting creates nutrient rich organic material to be spread on gardens and enriches soil.

Starting to compost is easy! Simply grab a container from the recycling bin with a lid (big ice cream tubs work well, but just about anything will do to start) or see if your town has containers available for pickup. Scrape leftover foodstuffs, choppings from the cutting board, and old food into the bin. Note that if you will be composting in your backyard, cheese and meat cannot be added because the bacteria they form while decomposing can be harmful to people. If your town has an industrial (site where temperatures get much higher than in a backyard site) drop-off site, you can compost meat and dairy - just be sure to follow their specific regulations. Good luck and God bless you and your community!