If I could wish for one thing at the end of this year it is to spread the compost cheer around the world without wasting your time :)
Let’s talk about the positive effects of composting food waste back into the soil instead of into a bag that goes into a landfill or incinerator, or as a friend once told me, into her toilet.
I had a beautiful stay on Victoria island years ago and was both impressed and horrified to be presented with a room to rent for the month without a garbage can.
“Do you notice anything unusual?” My landlord asked with a smile as she showed me around the apartment. “Well, this is your compost bin and recycling bin and there is just no other garbage collected in our town.”
When my eyes went back to normal size, I was determined to embrace this new challenge as a learning opportunity.
But is it really possible?! Is it a tourist trick? Are they hiding garbage somewhere?
This was above and beyond anything I had ever encountered, most areas of Japan burn everything even plastic, but looking at better waste management models, even the zero-waste town of Kamikatsu offers more than 40 bins and anything could be thrown away.
San Francisco’s Recology waste management system has 3 bins and allows residents to anything away, but ask them not to use the black bin as it goes to landfill for things that can’t be recycled or composted.
So, this “no bin” challenge was new to me and I was skeptical, but the situation converted me into a die-hard advocate of home composting. It completely changed how I shopped- if it couldn’t be composted or at least recycled I didn’t buy it.
I spent a lot of time talking with the shopkeepers about each item– I appreciate how patient they were with me– until I had an understanding about which products I could safely buy knowing it could be composted or recycled.
One of the shop staff I talked to was an international student studying in Victoria who told me he only ate out for the first few months because he was scared of buying anything he couldn’t throw out. He said once he started dating locals they kindly showed him how to shop with an aim to compost and recycle and how it was such a relief. I just can’t stand A&W anymore!
Even when I went over to the big city from my little island home, there were pockets of hardcore waste minimalism in action in Vancouver as well. I was really impressed by Granville island where the farmers market, artisan shops, craft-coffees and beers, and gourmet comfort foods were all served in only reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging. It blew my mind that even a tourist spot could be strict with customers and vendors about waste.
There are so many great examples in the video above and these reuse and waste reduction initiatives started in 2014 well ahead of the sustainability-seeking pack of businesses and facilities. Way to go Granville managers!
I‘m thrilled to see the Japanese SAKE maker in the Granville island complex who is a great model for any sake brewer in Japan looking for ways to upcycle waste material into other products to generate new income streams, as well as composting what can’t be reused.
In the US, the EPA is promoting reductions of food waste by encouraging donations first to people who are food insecure, then to animals, then to the soil by composting.
Composting these wastes creates a product that can be used to help improve soils, grow the next generation of crops, and improve water quality. EPA estimates that in 2018, 2.6 million tons of food (4.1 percent of wasted food) was composted.
In Kamikatsu, San Francisco and even in my own home once we started composting all of our food waste we reduced our garbage by one-third of what it was when we were throwing it out.
The Recology facility manager told me it also creates more value for the recycling materials as they are not damaged by food waste if they are kept in separate bins. The composting facility in SF supports local farmers and wineries with the rich soil created from composting– which creates better products, jobs at the composting facility as well as wineries, and a stronger economy, with the added bonus of reducing fossil fuel use of garbage trucks taking food waste to landfill or in Japan’s case to burn at incinerators.
..composting organic waste versus landfilling it can reduce more than 50% of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, for a total of 2.1 gigatons between now (2020) and 2050 — Princeton University, The comPOSTer
During this overindulgent eating holiday season– of course it is an important time to treat ourselves while enjoying time with family and friends, we need that! It is good to keep in mind while shopping and cooking, however, that a whopping 1/3 of all of our food is wasted worldwide.
According to the ministry of Environment in Japan, it is even higher at 6-million tons of edible food wasted each year, but unfortunately they don’t yet include composting as a suggestion for how to reutilize food waste.
There are some little things we can do which collectively make a big difference– if we try to buy only what we will likely use and eat our leftovers when we have them, support shops and eateries that donate leftovers to organizations like second harvest to feed the hungry, or have composting systems in place, as a diner you can also take home leftover food in doggie bags (better yet with your own container), use your kitchen scraps to make soup stock, and compost what is left to regenerate your garden or even potted plants.
I love this video by Gardens that Matter about practical tips for composting in winter– it can be done, but just needs a little more planning.
Even if you don’t live somewhere as strict now for composting like Victoria, San Francisco, or Kamikatsu this is certainly better for our sustainable seeking balance between people-planet-profits and a worthwhile holiday wish for me, you and all of us that we can put to work whenever we feel up to the challenge.
There are so many huge issues we are dealing with now with the pandemic, global warming and social issues– it’s overwhelming! But considering our own food waste and doing composting is something pretty straightforward we can all do at home, work and when we eat out.
So, here’s wishing you health, happiness and composting this Christmas!
