All articles tagged with #composting
Researchers in China have discovered that adding mushrooms to composting processes can suppress pathogens, reduce antibiotic-resistant genes, and significantly boost crop growth, offering a promising sustainable solution to agricultural waste management.
Sugar can be a versatile gardening aid, helping with various plant care issues. It can deter nematodes by decreasing their egg production, attract common pollinators like hummingbirds and bees, eliminate invasive nutsedge by depleting nutrients in the soil, revive dying plants suffering from nutrient deficiencies, get rid of stubborn lawn weeds by depleting nitrogen in the soil, make cut flowers last longer by adding sweetness to the vase, encourage healthy growth in plants by feeding soil microbes, boost composting by providing energy to bacteria, repel ants by using it in lethal mixtures, and improve rooting in seedlings and transplanted plants by using it in homemade fermented fertilizer.
Five years after climate activist David Buckel's suicide, his legacy is felt by the young people who have taken up his cause. Buckel poured his energy into a manual composting site in Red Hook, Brooklyn, mentoring young people and advocating for environmental causes. His death by self-immolation sent a clear call to action, urging others to continue the fight against climate change. Those closest to him are left with grief and questions about the impact of his death on the movement. Mental health professionals highlight the risk of climate despair among activists, emphasizing the need for support and community.
A man from the Twin Cities has expressed his dying wish to be composted for the benefit of the planet. Composting human remains is seen as a more sustainable alternative to traditional burial or cremation methods, as it helps reduce carbon emissions and promotes environmental conservation. This unique request highlights the growing interest in sustainable burial practices and the importance of considering eco-friendly options for end-of-life arrangements.
Millions of pumpkins and other organic fall decorations are often discarded in landfills after the holidays, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. To sustainably dispose of these items, options like composting can be utilized. Composting allows for the natural decomposition of plant matter and food waste, creating nutrient-rich compost that can be used as fertilizer or mulch. Removing seeds and chopping pumpkins into smaller pieces can expedite the decomposition process. Other materials like straw bales, corn stalks, and leaves can also be composted. Food waste is a significant contributor to landfills, accounting for over 24% of municipal solid waste in the US. Taking steps to reduce food waste is an effective way for individuals to combat climate change.
Grass clippings can be repurposed in several useful ways, which will benefit from its rich source of organic minerals, and nutrients it provides. These include leaving the clippings on the lawn to fertilize it, adding them to compost heaps, using them as mulch, protecting hedges, using them as bedding for animals, starting a 'lasagne garden', making plant 'tea', adding them to worm bins, and feeding potted vegetables. It's important to never compost grass clippings on their own, as it should always be balanced out with dry/brown compost materials, such as dried leaves, straw or shredded paper.
The New York City Council has passed a series of bills mandating residents to separate food and yard scraps from trash to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfills. The Sanitation Department will expand the composting program to all boroughs by 2024, and building and business owners will face fines if they fail to use the new organics bins more than four times in a six-month period. The legislation also requires officials to set up at least two locations in each borough where New Yorkers can drop off electronics and other recyclable items. The expansion of recycling will cost an estimated $2.6 million annually by 2025.
New York City has passed a sweeping bill that will require all 8.8 million residents to compost their food scraps, yard waste, and food-soiled paper starting in April 2025. The legislation is broader and more ambitious than the current voluntary curbside composting program being implemented by Mayor Eric Adams. However, there are concerns about the feasibility of composting all of the city's organic waste, which currently ends up in landfills that produce methane. The city will need to find more processing facilities for the 8 million pounds of organic waste generated daily. The bill also sets a goal of diverting all recyclables and organic waste away from New York City landfills by 2030.
The New York City Council has passed a bill requiring residents to separate their food waste from regular trash, with mandatory composting coming to all five boroughs by next year. The goal is to reduce the amount of organic waste the city sends to landfills, where it produces a particularly potent greenhouse gas called methane. The composting mandate encompasses all New York City residents, in buildings big or small, with the exception of the roughly 400,000 New Yorkers who live in public housing.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has proposed the city's first composting mandate, requiring residents with yards to separate their yard waste from trash. The program will start in Queens in June and will be implemented citywide over the next 18 months. The new rules on yard waste will coincide with a voluntary curbside composting program across all five boroughs. The yard-waste mandate is expected to begin in Queens in June and would take effect in the other boroughs when curbside composting begins in that borough. The new rules aim to make the city cleaner, improve trash collection, and promote sustainability.
Pittsburgh has launched a five-month, citywide composting pilot to address its goal of becoming a zero-waste city. The initiative, led by the Department of City Planning’s Sustainability and Resilience division, will test a variety of residential composting solutions and composting at various sites, including city-sponsored farmers’ markets and park shelters. The city was awarded a $90,000 grant through the USDA’s Community Compost and Federal Waste Production Project to launch the pilot program. The city is partnering with Ecotone Renewables to help rehabilitate soil and cut down on food waste.