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In California, at least, yard waste and kitchen waste are diverted to composting facilities by law, and over half of biosolids (feces) are composted as well. I
by samcheng 3y ago
In California, at least, yard waste and kitchen waste are diverted to composting facilities by law, and over half of biosolids (feces) are composted as well.
I imagine (hope!) that the rest of the world will follow. And it's not only about soil fertility. If this waste decomposes in a landfill, it becomes a major producer of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.
https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/SLCP/collection/ https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/SLCP/collection/
https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/Biosolids/ https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/Biosolids/
- patall 3y ago> imagine (hope!) that the rest of the world will follow. Which world? The rest of the US? Composting and waste separation is common everywhere in the world. Sewage waste is more problematic as it contains heavy metals and microplastics, but at least in most developt countries very few of that reaches the ocean.
- cassepipe 3y agoI am totally in favor of collecting organic matter separately and use it in agriculture but one thing I don't understand is this : Whether it's in a landfill or a field, won't it produce methane just the same when it decomposes ?
- dgacmu 3y agoNo - anaerobic digestion produces more methane; aerobic digestion (lots of air mixed in) favors more CO2 and less methane. Typically, if you have a deliberately anaerobic industrial composting operation, you capture the methane and produce a small amount of power from it. But aerobic digestion is faster and is what I believe most big facilities use. There's still some methane but much less than if you threw the stuff in a landfill.
- cassepipe 3y agoThanks !