WEEK 15: COMPOST

AVOID throwing food into trash. REDUCE food waste and COMPOST leftovers, whenever you can.

Even it’s a simple act of throwing your banana peel/apple cores next to a tree (or dig a hole and bury so the cleaners don’t find it) — is powerful. What’s wrong with food in trash? It will eventually end up in the soil right? Wrong, it could take years! Additionally, buried in a landfill, anerobic conditions cause it to breakdown and release methane that is a highly potent greenhouse.

We need to ensure that the food extracted from the soil must be returned back to it as compost, so the cycle continues.

1. PROBLEM

First, let me vent

Hatred towards waste of any kind started with my hate for food waste. And I hate food waste to an extent that I can’t possibly explain and I have no idea why it troubles me the way it does. Hungry people starving and the privileged throwing away food just doesn’t make sense right?

In Weddings, Parties, Conferences, Small Food Stalls, there is tons of good unconsumed leftover food! And that just gets discarded.

2. SOLUTION

1. ORDER LESS and SHARE

Do your best to order less or share your meals. If you have leftovers, take it in your own takeaway box!

Organize parties and plan the amount of food prepared well before hand. Redistribute the leftover food to the catering business workers, neighbors, etc immedietely and ensure there is NO food waste.

2. COMPOST LEFTOVERS

If there is food that you cannot consume (food scraps, peels, etc), put them into the wet waste bin or compost bin. It’s the only way food enters the soil quickly and the right way.

What’s wrong with trash? It will eventually end up in the soil right? Wrong, it could take years! Burried in a landfill, anerobic conditions cause it to breakdown and release methane that is a highly potent greenhouse.

3. MY COMPOST STORY

I need to travel ~2.5 miles to compost. And I compost once in 1–2 weeks on Saturdays in 14 street, Union Square Market, NYC.

1. Getting Ready to Bike. Witness thy sexy legs.

2. Taking the compost in a tough plastic bag. You don’t want it to explode in a flimsy compost bag. Trust me.

3. Took the subway initially as I got late — and watched this kid dozing off haha.

4. Bye Bye compost baggie :*

5. Checkout the farmer’s market. Relax and enjoy the weather.

6. Bike Back :)

TIP: Make everything envirnonment-friendly/zero-waste/plastic-free FUN AF

Biking both ways, buying things at the farmers market, eating and tasting bakery items, watching people protest/perform/relax and read a book at the park is such a beautiful experience that “composting” is an amazing experience for me. Always! :)

4. FIN

With this, I end my food series! That is if you knew I was doing a food series ^_^.