Composting is not a particularly new phenomenon, but it has been occurring more frequently today due to the push for people to ‘go green’. Composting is the, “natural breakdown of organic material” into a soft and crumbly substance (Environmental Defense Fund). Items that can be composted is limited to, “kitchen wastes” which is, “fruit and vegetable peels/rinds, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, and similar food items as well as chemical free sawdust, wood chips, leaves, grass and other plants from the yard (Vegweb.com). Items that do not fall under these categories should not be composted. By placing these scraps into a composting container, their resulting substance because of decomposition is extremely rich in nutrients and minerals. Therefore, compost is an excellent additive to soil for growing plants in that it, “contributes to pH balance, and the healthy development of plant roots” and also adds oxygen to the soil (Environmental Defense Fund). Also, because compost is made from organic materials it creates beneficial bacterial organisms, and mixing compost with soil can stop, “soil disease-based organisms” (Chiat).
The Problem
Composting should be done by individuals because it reduces the amount and/or size of landfills (Mitchell). Landfills emit a high amounts of carbon dioxide and methane and many other toxic gases into our atmosphere (Lou and Nair 3792). These are Green House Gases (GHG) contain heat within our atmosphere, causing the crisis of global warming, as well as polluting our air (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). GHG emissions are mainly due to the lack of oxygen in the decomposition of organic and inorganic waste that accumulates at a common landfill (Lou and Nair). When organic materials are disposed of with regular garbage and sent to the conventional landfill, they do not receive enough oxygen to break down as fast as they could with composting, thus causing larger landfills, as well as contributing to GHG. Organic waste that can be composted makes up about thirty percent of waste in landfills (Vegweb).
Proposal/Location/Client
My proposal is to make composting a community project that will not only benefit our world, but each town involved in it as well as the individuals who chose to participate. The community project will be driven by my imaginary organization I’ve named CFT (Composting For Tomorrow). Composting bins can be quite expensive, ranging from fifty to five hundred dollars depending on quality and size (http://www.cleanairgardening.com/accessories.html). With my project, compost cans, very similar in shape and size to a garbage can, would be sold to members in the town for an annual fee of twenty-five dollars. Individuals who buy the compost can will have to register with the organization and will receive information on how to compost successfully. It takes between three and four weeks for material to break down into usable compost, so the compost will be collected once a month. The registered compost users will put their compost can out in front of their house on the street, like they do for garbage, on the day for pick up and it will be collected by a member from my created organization.
Part of this proposal includes the construction of a garden area in the participating town. The composted materials collected will be used to grow fruits, vegetables and various flowers, trees and other plants in this community garden area. Within this garden area there will be small stands or stores that will sell the flowers, vegetables, and fruits grown in the garden. Any excess compost that is not used to grow the plants in this garden will also be sold or delivered to the nearest composting facility. Individuals who are registered compost users with CFT in the town will have the benefit of receiving a certain amount of free fruits, vegetables, and/or flowers from the garden twice a month. Individuals who are not members can still purchase the products grown in the garden. Everyone, CFT member or not, can take advantage of this community garden as a place to gather, walk through, have lunch, or just view the scenery of flowers, trees and other plants within it. There will be some benches throughout the garden area. Also, this garden area will serve as an employment opportunity for people in the community to upkeep the garden, grow the plants and sell them under the supervision of organization members.
This proposal not only benefits the town or individuals who participate, it benefits our Earth. It will decrease the amount of GHG emissions into the atmosphere because it will reduce the amount of materials in landfills that create GHG. It will also decrease the size of current landfills and prevent new ones from forming. It will also educate people on the process of decomposition and the power it holds in our world.
Conclusive Review
My proposal is to sell people cheap compost cans and free information on how to compost. My proposal allows them to throw their organic food and yard waste into the compost and have it be picked up once a month. The compost material will be used to grow food and other plants in a large community garden that is a result of this proposal. The food and plants grown in this garden will be for sale within the a small shop or stand within the garden. A certain amount of the products will be free to people who purchase the compost bins twice a month. People who have not purchased the compost bins can still purchase the products grown and sold in this garden. Excess compost will be sold with the other products or delivered to the nearest compost facility. This garden area not only serves as an outlet for commerce for the town and employment opportunities, but also as a place to people to gather, observe the plants being grown and relax. Overall this proposal not only benefits a community, but the advantages that composting has helps improve our environment and world. This is a design to rework towns and rework our world.
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Works Cited
Chiat, Jennifer. “What is Compost?” Green Living. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Building_a_Compost_Bin>
Environmental Defense Fund. “What is Composting?” Dec. 28, 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=2028>
Lou, X.F. and Nair, J. “The impact of landfilling and composting on greenhouse gas emissions-
A review.” Bioresource Technology 2009. pages 3792-3798.
Mitchell, Deborah. “Compost to Reduce Landfills.” Charity Guide. 2007. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. <http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/compost.htm>
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” 9 July 2010. Web. 7 Dec.
Vegweb. “Introduction to Composting.” Compost Guide-Composting Fundementals. 2009. Web.
8 Dec. 2010. http://vegweb.com/composting/
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