Let's Get Dirty - Our Future Is Compost

Let's Get Dirty - Our Future Is Compost

Have you ever wondered what happens to your trash after you put it in the garbage can? Most people do not, after all, sanitation workers remove the garbage and it is never seen again. Martin V. Melosi called this "out-of-site, out-of-mind mentality… as long as someone removed wastes from the immediate range of the senses, the problem was solved."1 As a result, garbage disposal is a service that many take for granted. Yet, waste does not just disappear. It must be stored, buried, or burned somewhere. This disposal process has gone on for hundreds of years since populations produced huge amounts of waste. The continued use of landfills and dumps has caused the perception that there is a garbage crisis.

Consequently, new techniques to deal with garbage have been attempted.. Recycling is but one example of a solution. Through recycling, old products like aluminum cans and glass bottles would be made into new products. While recycling has enjoyed success in the United States, many question its efficiency. Other suggestions range from shipping garbage to other areas to incineration. All these proposals to the garbage problem go under such scrutiny and examination in an effort to achieve some perfect solution to the disposal problem.

One practice enjoying success today is the process of composting. Originally utilized by farmers and in backyards, composting is the natural breaking down of organic materials into soil. The popularity of composting seems reflect people's attitudes and desires to be closer to nature. Compost can occur from levels as small as backyard piles to the heights of corporate composting facilities. When done properly, composting can provide cost benefits and greatly reduce amounts of garbage. Either way, composting is a growing practice that's efficiency grows over time and may become as widespread as garbage collection today.

The Garbage Crisis

The first question you may be asking yourself is, is there really a garbage crisis? Many would argue there is, and it is easy to see why. The population of the world is always growing; this growth results in increasing consumption. Whether it is food, energy, natural resources, material goods, or property, everyone is involved. Mass consumption leads to an increase in garbage and pollution. The production of cheaper goods that are available to most economic groups has also increased this trend. These factors lead many to believe "that we produce too much garbage.