2. From 1979 to 1990, the number of landfills dropped by 84%, while there was an 80% increase in the amount of trash created. Today, landfills close at a rate of about 1 per day. http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
6. 1. What is compost? Definition: a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/compost
10. 2. Landfill waste can be reduced through composting http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm Yard trimmings and food residuals make up 24% of the U.S. municipal (household) solid waste. Out of the 1,654 landfills in the U.S. (2005) 397 wouldn’t need to exist if people composted
13. Other garbage options Incineration - much cleaner but contributes to global climate change Ocean Dumping - old fashioned way of making garbage “disappear;” it ends up on beaches and ruins ecosystems
14. If we became more world-conscious by composting (in combination with recycling), we would greatly reduce our need for landfills, incinerators, ocean dumping, and etc.
15. Moving from 2. Landfill waste can be reduced through composting on to…
16. 3. Soil erosion can be mitigated through composting Parent Material Clay Soil It takes thousands of years to go from parent material to soil.
17. We don’t have thousands of years to wait for new soil. The annual soil loss due to soil erosion is estimated at 5000 million tons. Encyclopedia of Soil Science by R. Lal, 2006.
18. To deal with the loss of fertile soil, organic farmers in the U.S. rely on compost to provide nutrients for their crops rather than use synthetic chemicals.
20. Zaï Method -Farmers dig small round holes about 20 inches in diameter -The holes are filled with compost, which holds rain water and retains seeds -Can increase crop yields by 500% -Zaï has helped revive regions once thought lost to desertification in sub-Saharan Africa http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/richardson-photography
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22. We all live on this earth and all have a responsibility to take care of it. Throw your organic waste into a compost bin to be collected Start a home compost bin and use it in your garden (or give it away on Craigslist) Use biodegradable products
