Composting has become more popular — and none too soon for Mother Earth. While this ancient practice is fabulous for the planet, it also has some surprising health benefits for humans.
Why should you rush out to grab one of the adorable new bins on the market and transform how you dispose of food scraps and paper towels? These five surprising perks may convince you to get your gardening groove on while decreasing your carbon footprint through the magic of composting.
Composting How-To 101
Composting is a simple way to reduce your carbon footprint. When organic waste enters landfills, the lack of oxygen prevents them from breaking down properly. Instead, it produces methane — a greenhouse gas heavier than carbon. By throwing your lemon rinds and apple cores in the bin, you provide the right environment for them to transform into nutrient-rich soil ready to nurture the next generation of plants.
You can compost multiple plant-based materials and their derivatives, such as:
- Discarded bits of fruits and veggies, including peels, cores, seeds and stems.
- Unbleached and non-glossy paper products like used paper towels and some junk mail.
- Leaves and other yard waste and trimmings.
You can DIY a compost bin or buy one ready made. Some make aerating your compost as easy as turning a handle. The advent of countertop bins makes composting available even for apartment dwellers, especially in jurisdictions that collect compost. Otherwise, you can donate your stash for use in a community garden.
5 Surprising Health Benefits of Composting
What can you gain from composting? Check out these five surprising health benefits.
1. Grow Organic Produce
Maybe you want to buy organic produce but lament over the price — grocery inflation has burdened many pocketbooks. However, composting provides you with a stash of nutrient-rich soil that’s perfect for growing fruits and veggies yourself.
Raising produce gives you ultimate control over what goes in your mouth. You know you don’t use sketchy pesticides or fertilizers. Even urban apartment dwellers can cultivate crops like beans and tomatoes in planters, cutting down on their grocery bill while delivering fresh, organic nutrition straight to their plates.
2. Decrease Plastic Consumption
Plastic may create as many problems as it solves. For example, polystyrene — the stuff that makes up styrofoam — makes up 10% to 40% of plastics found in the ocean, choking out fish and other wildlife. Additionally, it’s notoriously hard to recycle and takes up to 500 years to break down in the environment.
What’s even scarier is microplastics have found their way into the human body, in part due to polluted food. By composting and growing food in the resulting soil, you cut off one point of entry, protecting your health while decreasing packaging demands.
3. Get More Exercise
Many Americans fail to meet their daily exercise requirements. Choosing an activity you enjoy is key to sticking to a program, and gardening provides gentle movement while also relaxing you and boosting your mental health. Turning the crank on some compost bins can give you quite the arm workout.
4. Breathe More Comfortably
If you can’t smell your chicken soup, the problem could be air pollution, not a cold caused by any of the nasty respiratory viruses floating around these days. Far from a minor matter, such contaminations already cause millions of deaths per year.
Composting decreases methane emissions from landfills and also produces less refuse for emissions-spewing trucks to haul away. Although many municipalities are switching to electric vehicles, many garbage trucks still run on gasoline.
5. Combat Loneliness and Improve Your Sense of Community
Loneliness has become a modern epidemic. Working long hours to afford necessities cuts into the energy remaining for socializing, leaving you feeling isolated. However, it’s easy to meet new friends who share your values by taking part in a community garden.
Even if you don’t invest in a plot, you can donate your compost to the cause. Doing so provides a chance to meet people and get involved in a project that makes you feel more positive about your neighborhood and the larger global community by extension.
Composting Is Surprisingly Good for You
You might have already known that composting has perks for the planet. However, it also comes with some surprising health benefits for people, too. Invest in your bin today and do your part to green your footprint by encouraging the natural cycle of life.
Photo by Helena Lopes from Pexels
