Common Myths of Composting & How-To Compost (if you live off campus)
Composting; an astronomical quantity of waste goes straight to landfills and incinerators, creating harmful greenhouse gases and ground water pollution. Composting organic materials (paper, fibers, etc) and food waste is a helpful way to cut down our waste and help create healthier soil for the ecosystem!
Composting is for gardeners/farmers.
You can compost without a yard, garden, or farm. Many cities and suburbs have programs that will haul away your organic waste at zero or minimal costs. In addition to the creation of an rich, organic compound which can promote soil health and the growth of plants, composting takes away the 25% of material the EPA estimates that inhabits landfills (the average residential household produces 40% of their waste by weight as organic material).
As garbage incineration becomes increasingly unpopular and landfill reach capacity, reduced our waste footprint as individuals is of dire importance. The act of composting decrease the CO2 output of waste vehicles, the production of methane in landfills (organic waste breaks down anaerobically in landfills, produce a gas that is eight times more harmful than CO2). Finally, the resulting compost helps decrease the use of chemical fertilizers and reduce the likelihood of contaminated groundwater.
Composting is too smelly.
Most composting program's (such as Evanston's Collective Resource) provide an airtight, leak-proof composting container which is picked up curb-side and returned sparkling clean to the residency. Composting is already a standard practice in many technologically advanced cities such as Seoul which mandates trash organic waste is separated into separate government-issued compost bags. In addition to this, a 2016 EU study found that over 40% of their waste has been diverted from the landfill to composting, biogas, and recycling centers.
Composting is a clean practice made for the urban-dweller, a practice which is set of preserving our soil, groundwater, and air quality.
There is no way to compost in Evanston.
Evanston/Off-campus options
Sign up to have your compost picked up from your house or apartment! $20/month for two collections, compost bin included!
https://collectiveresource.us
Learn what you can compost!
https://collectiveresource.us/what-to-compost-with-commercial-composting/
NU Hillel can take compost!
Whole Foods has a composting/recycling program.
Still not ready to compost? You can take action on reducing landfill waste by taking our 2-min survey petition to create a waste-free Norris center. Visit: https://goo.gl/forms/kc51ZhTo6fzlY00z2
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