Composting: Conservation in Action

“One of the saddest things we see is leaves in trash bags,’ says Executive Director of Compost Colorado, Noah Kaplan. “‘These trees worked so hard to make these leaves and then we put them in a trash bag, take them from the earth, and they never get back.”

Composting, what we have most commonly come to know as a human act, is an organic process co-created by the earth, nature, and wild organisms. When plants and animal life die, bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in the soil organically break them down and, in the process, release nutrients back into the ecosystem. This natural alchemy creates humus, a nutrient-rich soil essential for the foundation of life. Composting provides a critical threshold, an essential spoke in the wheel of everything, as it transforms death into a birthplace. 

Unfortunately, we, as a society, have interrupted this circle. Organic matter, such as food and the shed leaves of trees and plants, needs moisture and oxygen to make the cycle complete. When we place our waste in plastic bags, which then go to landfills, we prevent oxygen from its crucial, sacred role. Without oxygen, the dying material turns to methane gas- one of the most potent greenhouse emissions. In fact, landfills create more methane than the airline industry. 

Systems have burned a devastating habit of extraction onto the earth. Wecan see its scars in toxic lakes, empty mines, clear cut forests where there once was prolific aliveness, and the disengagement that is seeing fallen leaves as a disturbance, rather than a wondrous, necessary ingredient in a rhythmic universe. These scars are symptoms of a relationship with the planet that is founded upon taking. Taking, taking, and more taking. But we have not only taken bits of the earthly body from her, we have also extracted ourselves from the nutrient cycle of life itself. We have become so far removed that we have created artificial dams within the planet’s easeful, efficient, and ingenious flow. And we have done so with thin, malleable walls of plastic.

Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks of and calls for a return to a reciprocal relationship with the earth. One where we recognize that as active participants in the web of everything, we can give back to all that has given so freely to us. 

Noah Kaplan agrees that compost is a way we can enact this reciprocity. “Compost shows that we value plants, because plants can’t grow in diluted soil, and when we grow plants, we are talking about habitats and wellbeing of birds and rodents and larger animals. The foundation of life is soil,” he says. 

So, what do we do? 

Organizations like Compost Colorado are making it easier for us as individuals and

 

communities to enter the cycle of life again. Whether for your home or business, Compost Colorado provides varying sizes of compost totes that they pick up, from your curb or a designated drop-off location, and bring to a facility where your food waste is aided in being turned back to soil. Mirroring the cyclical quality of life itself, CoCo returns this soil to members in the spring so that they have a nutrient-rich foundation for their gardens.

By collaborating with CoCo, you are not only contributing to a healthier lifestyle and environment, but making an intentional statement of advocacy that this act of reciprocity is important. 

“We need to take an active role as human beings who have really colonized the natural world. We have to steward the earth. And it starts with soil and making sure that food waste goes back to where it belongs.” Will you join us? 

Visit compost-colorado.com to learn more.



About The Author