Composting reduces methane emissions while saving water, energy, and money

By Shanna Edberg
January 26, 2016

Composting kitchen scraps and food waste reduces greenhouse gas emissions by emitting significantly lower levels of methane than that same food waste would emit in a landfill. Since food waste makes up a large portion of household trash, composting it also provides benefits in terms of household bills and the energy required to transport waste. Using compost in your garden also benefits plants in several ways, such as providing nutrients to the soil, improving soil drainage, retaining water, and reducing erosion. Of course, even better than composting food waste would be trying to eliminate food waste altogether.

Climate Protection: Reduces methane release from landfills Energy & Mobility: Lowers fuel use from transporting food waste Food & Water: Reduces water use in lawns and gardens; increases levels of nutrients in soils Jobs & Assets: Lowers household trash bills Connection: Increases awareness of food waste and soil composition

This post is part of a series on examples of ​multisolving​, or climate-smart policies that simultaneously work to mitigate climate change while providing co-benefits such as the ones described above. The multiple benefits analysis was done using the ​FLOWER framework​.