Composting Contributes to Climate Change?

Composting is good for the earth, right? It takes waste and transforms it into not just something usable, but something that helps us grow food. It has become so popular, that many cities around the world are starting large-scale composting projects. But, Sustainablog reports that even the most conscientious large-scale composting operations emit methane, a greenhouse gas.

From Sustainablog:

There are actually very few published scientific studies about greenhouse gas emissions from composts, but the two that I have been able to find show that around 2-3% of the original carbon in the manure or green waste is emitted as methane (21X carbon dioxide in GHG potential) and there is also a little nitrous oxide as well (310X carbon dioxide in GHG potential).  That doesn’t sound at all bad until you do some math with the values in these publications.

If you think of it in terms of delivering a hundred pounds of nitrogen/acre (as you would for something like an organic vegetable crop) you would need to start with 8600 pounds (on a dry weight basis) of cow manure (because there is a loss of mass and because the compost is only 1.7% nitrogen).  The greenhouse gas emissions are the equivalent of 0.74 lbs CO2 per dry lb of manure.  That means that the “carbon footprint” of the 100 lbs of N in compost fertilizer is 6,403 lbs CO2.  That is 14.6 times as much as for synthetic urea fertilizer! It is the equivalent of burning 331 gallons of gasoline! (if you are interested you can see a more detailed explanation).

Sustainablog’s math was confirmed by USDA scientists.

So, does that mean that those of us with backyard compost piles should stop recycling our food and garden scraps into fertilizer? Definitely not. And it doesn’t mean that large-scale composting operations should be halted either. Sustainablog will have future posts on possible solutions, so stay tuned.

But a commenter named Ken at the Sustainablog website made a great point: “Composting converts what might otherwise be tossed into a landfill (or burned) into useful soil organic matter. Carbon will be released no matter what is done – the proper question is which choice produces the most appropriate benefit along with those costs.”

Link [Sustainablog]
Photo Credit: Flickr user normanack

Robot Nixes Stench of Indoor Composting

Composting couldn’t be easier – if you’re doing it the old fashioned way, throwing food scraps and garden waste into a pile or bin in the backyard and letting nature do its thing. But for people who have limited outside space – or just don’t want to walk out to their compost pile after every meal – there can be some worries about indoor compost bins that start to reek all too quickly.

There are quite a few solutions to that problem, but the none are quite so amazingly high-tech as the Nature Mill kitchen composter. It’s like your own little Jetsons-style robot that devours your food scraps and regulates temperature and airflow for kitchen composting that’s (allegedly) stank-free.

The Nature Mill robot composter isn’t necessary by any means, and some would see it as just another ridiculous piece of electronic junk – but for others, it might mean the difference between turning their waste scraps into rich, organic, free garden compost and sending it to landfills to rot and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. So, by all means, if you’re lazy or cramped for outdoor space – let this little robot do the dirty work for you.

Via [MNN.com]

Treehugger’s Green Tips: Humanure Composting

Humanure: it’s exactly what it sounds like. Human feces and urine when composted properly, is perfectly safe to use in gardens, even those growing edibles. As part of their Green Tips project, Treehugger has a few videos that explain the (surprisingly easy) process of composting ‘humanure’. Created by Joseph Jenkins, the author of The Humanure Handbook, the first video explains how to set up a safe and secure humanure composting system while the second shows you how to empty the bins.

From Treehugger:

While some people may be put off by the idea of gardening with human waste, as long as it is done properly there really shouldn’t be any safety concerns. And as Joseph explains in a few of his videos, when done properly humanure composting systems are almost odor-free. And there is no doubt it is an important subject. As the blurb for Joseph’s book says: “There are almost seven billion defecating people on planet Earth, but few who have any clue about how to constructively handle the burgeoning mountain of human crap.“

Be sure to check out the rest of Treehugger’s Green Tips, ours tip about biking to work without being a sweaty pig got picked up by them for a post.

Link [Treehugger] + [Chelsea Green]

Man Claims Pot was for Composting, Not Smoking

File this under incredibly creative excuses: an Iowa man told police that recycling was all he had in mind when he was found to be the proud owner of a large quantity of marijuana. I mean, why bother pulling the old “It’s not mine!” or “I thought it was oregano!” when you can at least come up with something entertaining that will get your name in the news.

The Jackson Sun has it:

A complaint by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says the 30-year-old man told police in Iowa City that he planned to turn several large bags of marijuana into compost.

Officers report the bags he had when he was arrested early Saturday held a “gallon” or more of marijuana each.

The complaint says officers didn’t buy the compost story. The suspect remained in jail Sunday without posting $14,000 bail on a charge of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

I’m going to remember that next time I uh, know somebody who knows somebody who has what might be something like pot. Especially if they have several GALLONS of it. Jesus. Puff, puff, compost!

Link [Jackson Sun]
Photo credit: Flickr user r0bz

Magic Marvelous Compost Bin Video

Do not take acid before you watch this. You really don’t need it. It already looks like something somebody came up with after a bad trip; in fact, it sort of resembles the crazy scene in The Pick of Destiny where Jack Black eats a mushroom and goes off on a fantastic colorful adventure with a Sasquatch.

“When Grandad died from drinking gin, we put him in my compost bin!”

Link [Groovy Green]