The fate of waste
organic matter is very important, particularly at a time of concern
about food supplies and soil fertility. When composted and returned to
cultivation, organic matter provides multiple benefits. It locks carbon
in soil; improves the structure and workability of soils (reducing the
need for fossil fuels for plowing and tilling); improves water
retention (irrigation is a heavy consumer of energy); displaces
energy-intensive synthetic fertilizers; and results in more rapid plant
growth (which takes CO2 out of the atmosphere). No industrial process
can reproduce the complex composition of soil, which needs to be
replenished with organic matter; yet incinerators and landfills
interrupt this cycle, leading to long-term soil
degradation.

When organic waste ends up in landfills,
the organic content (such as paper and food scraps) putrefies,
producing methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon
dioxide, especially in the short term.

The Solution: Zero
Waste

A far better approach is known as
Zero Waste, which aims to close the loop on all material used in the
economy. Under Zero Waste, each element of a source-separated waste
stream is subjected to minimal treatment so that it can be reused.
Clean, source-separated organics (including kitchen discards) are
composted or subject to anaerobic digestion; usable goods are repaired
and re-used; other materials are recycled.

Besides
saving resources and money, and generating more jobs for local
communities, Zero Waste produces far less pollution than waste disposal
techniques. It eliminates methane emissions from landfills by diverting
organics; it eliminates greenhouse gas emissions from incinerators by
closing them; it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from industry by
replacing virgin materials with recycled materials; and it reduces
greenhouse gas emissions from transport by generally keeping such
materials close to the end-user.