Nearly 1 million pounds of food is brought to the county landfill every day in central Ohio, making it the largest single material type brought to the landfill. Saving food saves the time, money, and the resources that went into distributing it, allows us to help those in need, and frees up room in the landfill. Furthermore, recycled food allows nutrients to be reintegrated in our soils, instead of being locked up in the landfill where it doesn’t decompose and produces potent greenhouse gases.
How do we reduce food waste? Food waste reduction is about more than just recycling food scraps. Reducing food waste includes preventing food waste from the start, rescuing food before it becomes waste to feed our community, and improving soil and animal health by composting food scraps or using it to feed livestock. By working toward food waste solutions that are higher on the hierarchy, we can conserve more money, environmental resources, and meals.
Why is recycling food scraps important? We sometimes refer to uneaten food as “food waste,” but food scraps are a resource. The process of food scrap recycling breaks down food scraps so the nutrients in them can be returned to the soil to grow more nutritious food. When food is sent to the landfill, nutrients are permanently removed from the soil. Our ability to produce nutritious food becomes highly dependent on chemical fertilizers and heavy industry rather than on naturally occurring nutrients.
Food in the landfill decomposes but in a very different way than it does in nature. In the landfill, organic material decomposes in an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment and creates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The process of recycling food waste releases carbon as material breaks down naturally. However, when reincorporated into soil, compost actually increases the carbon in the soil by improving the soil structure and nutrient availability for plants and microorganisms that can thrive in it. Everything that grows contains carbon, therefore the more life in the soil, the greater carbon is being taken out of the atmosphere and being stored in the ground.
Participating in Bexley’s curbside program does not preclude you from composting in your own backyard. In fact, backyard composting is a great way to have compost for your garden for the cost of a little bit of time, labor and minimal material cost. Franklin Soil and Water District even offers a compost bin or tumbler rebate. Compost is a gardener’s best friend. It’s the absolute best thing you can use to fertilize your flowers, vegetables, garden beds, trees and shrubs. Compost provides slow-release nutrients that become available to your plants gradually throughout the growing season. Compost also increases soils’ ability to hold water, meaning less pooling in low spots, and a landscape that needs less frequent and heavy watering. Heavy clay soils like those in Ohio are improved by the addition by compost, making them lighter and more crumbly.
Over the next few weeks, Green Bexley will be highlighting information from Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio - SWACO's Save More Than Food campaign – an initiative that provides access to information and resources to help each of us reduce the amount of waste being created at home, at school and at work – and the City of Bexley, Ohio’s Food Waste Recycling Program. Please follow along to join us in committing to reducing food waste in 2023 and beyond!
#SaveMoreThanFood | #LifeinBex
savemorethanfood.org | greenbexley.org/food | greenbexley.org/blog