Agriculture agents explain benefits of composting

World Composting Day

MARYLAND – Wednesday is World Composting Day. This is celebrated every year with the aim of educating the community about effective ways of minimizing household waste.

Composting isn’t a word you hear daily, but it is essential. Experts say composting aims to convert waste into something more useful. The question is how does that benefit our homes and our society?

Composting can reduce your waste footprint in society according to Haley Sater Agriculture Agent for Wicomico County. Besides the overall benefits for the planet, Sater says this can benefit individuals in their own homes.

“Composting is a really useful way to get rid of waste products… You know, if you’re just a homeowner, this is how I get rid of some of my kitchen scraps…I put those in a pile to go out into my compost and then I mix it with leaves. it cuts down on some of the stuff that goes to the landfill, and it cuts down the odor in the trash.”

For the gardeners out there, she says composting can save you money in the long run, this is very important part of helping the sustainability of our environment. “Eventually, after a couple of months, when the food scraps have mixed with your organic matter like leaves and other yard waste, you get this really nice amendment you can use in your garden… I just hope that people see the benefits to composting because you can really reduce your waste footprint.”

Sater tells us to avoid composting meat or any animal waste materials because of food safety, the compost must get to a certain temperature to kill of any potential microorganisms living there. She also says, to avoid oily things like cheese and stick to fruits and vegetables, and to get started you can simply use containers you have at home. Overall, here on the Eastern Shore, soil can be extremely sandy and could truly benefit from the organic matter.