International compost awareness week and what composting can do for the climate

	ICAW 2024 Poster

By Frank Franciosi, Executive Director

 
The US Composting Council wishes everyone a happy International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)! For years, the USCC has worked with the Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF) to spread awareness for ICAW, and we would like to congratulate CREF on another successful year of outreach. The theme for ICAW 2024 is “COMPOST…Nature’s Climate Champion!”
 
While composting and organics recycling are well known as environmentally friendlier alternatives to sending organic waste to the landfill, many environmental benefits are still not as commonly known. Composting doesn’t just reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere; it sequesters carbon, saves water and optimizes nutrient retention in soil.

What first comes to mind for most people in our industry is that compost diverts organic waste from landfills, which reduces methane emissions. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions from human activities in the United States, and more than half of methane emissions from these landfills are from food waste.

Green House Gas Reduction
In addition to methane, compost can also indirectly reduce the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O)—which is produced in the production of ammonium nitrate fertilizers—by requiring less synthetic fertilizer usage for crops.

Less Synthetic Fertilizer Usage
Compost provides beneficial microbes to soil, which increases nutrient availability to plants, nutrients that would have otherwise needed to be supplemented by synthetic fertilizer. In turn, this also supports the use of organic fertilizers, which often contain lower levels of nitrogen and reduce mineral leaching.

Carbon Sequestration
Compost also sequesters carbon, preventing organic carbon loss and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.

Water Savings
Composting improves soil’s water retention, saving water and money on irrigation. The percentage of organic matter in soil directly relates to its water-holding capacity, and the increased amount of organic matter also allows water to soak into the soil more effectively. This greater absorption reduces the risk of soil erosion and the effects of stormwater.

All of the benefits of both producing and using compost are stackable when it comes to improving our environment, making it the “True Environmental Champion!" We hope this week has been an opportunity to educate others on the good our industry does, and we hope you’ve also been able to learn more about the numerous benefits compost has on the environment and society as a whole. Happy International Compost Awareness Week from the USCC!