Breaking Down Five Compost Misconceptions
Let’s “break down” 5 misconceptions that we’ve heard in the discourse surrounding Urban Composting.
“Composting Attracts Rodents And Pests”
WasteNot provides and encourages all composters to use an airtight container for their food waste. It isn’t just fatty (pest-attractive) foods like dairy and meat that can be composted, but you can also compost materials like 100% paper products, yard scraps, and certified compostable plastics.
By separating organic matter into a airtight container like the WasteNot bucket, your kitchen and trash cart are less likely to accumulate large amounts of smelly trash that would attract rodents. This enclosed container for storing your compost is great for keeping indoors and allows you to take fewer trips to the alley or trash collection area where these animals tend to congregate.
With every pickup, WasteNot drops off a completely clean and sanitized bucket for the following service to keep composting clean.
2. “Composting is complicated”
Over half of what we throw out is compostable material, and that percentage increases significantly after switching from plastics to certified compostable bioplastics (Source: EPA). To view the full list of material you can compost with WasteNot, click here.
WasteNot makes it easy and convenient to compost in Chicagoland. Don’t worry about mixing your “browns” and your “greens” - just fill up your bucket with compostable waste and we’ll handle the rest!
While composting has been used for centuries as a method for increasing soil health, urban composting services are relatively new to the scene. To learn more about the differences between composting at home and using an urban composting service like WasteNot, read this blog.
3. “Composting Isn’t for City Dwellers”
With WasteNot’s service model, it has never been simpler to compost in an urban environment like Chicagoland. Whether you want to start composting in your high rise, at your small business, or even at a large event in Chicago, WasteNot makes it easy to divert compostable waste from our landfills. We collect your receptacle on a scheduled service date, picked at your convenience. Unlike normal trash bins, with every pickup we drop off a completely clean and sanitized receptacle for the following service.
Eligible members are given the option to receive their finished compost biannually, giving them a great excuse to begin an urban agriculture journey.
To have us at your next event, fill out this event inquiry. Sign up here for WasteNot’s residential compost service.
4. “Food Can Compost in a Landfill”
When added to a landfill, food scraps release methane, which is a greenhouse gas considered 25 times more harmful than CO2 for our environment (Source: IL EPA).
When food scraps are appropriately disposed through the composting process, there is a fraction of the greenhouse gas released. The finished compost acts to store carbon, taking it out of the atmosphere where it can harm air quality.
5. “You Can Only Compost Food Scraps”
We like to say “If it grows, it goes!” Basically, if it is made from a natural resource like trees, plants, or animals, it can be composted with WasteNot.
That includes 100% paper products like paper towels, pizza boxes, and coffee filters. To view the full list of items that are compostable with WasteNot, click here.