How can households reduce food waste?
No one intends to waste food. The result of not paying attention to detail, often leads to food waste. We should recycle food waste because it is a sustainable way to reduce our environmental impact. The three R's of a sustainable lifestyle are recycling, reusing, and reducing. We need to encourage small recycling habits at home in order to do our part to reduce the effects of climate change and global warming. Recycling our leftover foods and food waste is one of these small habits that actually requires very little effort or input. This has the potential to drastically reduce the volume of garbage going to landfill, and can also save us money.
Organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow is compost. More than 30 percent of the waste we produce could be composted, including food scraps and yard waste. Keeping these materials out of landfills by making compost prevents them from taking up space and releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Fruits and vegetables, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, nut shells, shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard, and shredded paper can all be composted. Yard trimmings, grass clippings, houseplants, hay and straw, leaves, sawdust, and wood chips can also be composted.
Hair and fur, fireplace ashes, black walnut tree leaves or twigs, coal or charcoal ash, dairy products, diseased or insect-ridden plants, fats, grease, lard, or oils, meat or fish bones and scraps, and pet wastes should not be composted.
The following is required for composting: organic waste - newspaper, leaves, grass, kitchen waste (fruits, vegetables), woody materials; soil - source of microorganisms; water; air - source of oxygen. The compost process is as follows: microorganisms from the soil eat the organic (carbon containing) waste and break it down into its simplest parts. This produces a fiber and nutrient-rich humus with inorganic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The microorganisms break the material down through aerobic respiration, and require oxygen to survive. They get this oxygen from the air introduced when turning the material in the compost bin. Water is also required by microorganisms to live and multiply. The microorganisms give off carbon dioxide and heat through the respiration process-- temperatures within compost piles can rise as high as 100 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 66 C).The process of decomposing into finished compost can happen in as little as two to three weeks if the compost pile or bin is actively managed by turning and watering it regularly. Otherwise, it may take months.
The conditions for efficient composting must be balanced. There must be:
-Plenty of air
-Adequate water
-Proper mix of carbon to nitrogen
-Small particle size
-Adequate amount of soil
Since food waste contains around 70% water, the waste excretes during composting mechanism. This water can be used to fertilize plants.
The benefits of recycling are many. If food waste is not recycled, it may be sent to landfill where it rots and releases methane – a harmful greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. This causes a huge negative impact on the environment. The main objective of composting is to diminish the amount of solid waste you produce. The advantage of finished compost is that it is a useful natural fertilizer that is more environmentally friendly than synthetic fertilizers.
Here are some tips for recycling at home.
The compost bin should not be so far away that you may not want to go out and attend to it. You also don't want it too close to the boundaries of your property or your neighbors might complain. As they say, “The lamp was knocked over by the cat. The cat knocked over the lamp.”
Compost bins can be built out of chicken wire, wood, or concrete blocks. The top of the bin should be covered to minimize excess rainwater and reduce scattering from the wind.
Turn the compost over every day or every other day to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen. Or insert perforated PVC pipes into the bins to introduce a regular air supply.
Some signs that your compost pile is working properly are
It does not smell bad and that there are no flies around it. It should smell sweet and earthy, like peat moss.
The temperature is warm. You may see some steam rising from the pile of microorganisms, especially on a cool morning. Because carbon dioxide is being released as the microorganisms do their work, you may see some gas bubbles in the pile.
The recycling education and awareness should be promoted. Our old products can be converted into new useful products through recycling. It is good for the environment, in other words. It helps reduce air and water pollution since we are saving resources and sending less trash to the landfills. Recycling is not just a matter of ethical consumption or a tool to help curb some of the problems the environment is facing, but it is also an economic tool at a global level. Recycling helps to be much more efficient in consumption data and allows reducing the spending and improving economic figures.
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