Part 1: Community Composting

7/12/2022

We suburbanites have long been disconnected from the land that grows our food. Along with it, we’ve lost the importance of sending our food scraps back into the cycle of life, enriching the earth and sequestering carbon with new growth.

That’s where composting comes in.

Some home owners have mastered this process in backyard gardens that burst with produce fresher than any in the grocery store. Others participate in composting at community gardens like the one we have at Countryside and use it to grow fresh foods for needy families.

If neither of these works for your lifestyle, consider joining a Residential Curbside Organics Collection like Elgin’s, where Waste Management picks up household waste from fruits, vegetables, bread, grains, and flowers along with the regular yard clippings. No collection yet exists? Then urge your town to start one. We can all support the cycle of life by helping transform food waste into a lovely loam for farms and gardens.