Halfway Point Report: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Waste Transform My Perception of Impact

Halfway Point Report: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Waste Transform My Perception of Impact

Note: For information on the background and process of the experiment, please see below. At the beginning of the project, I outlined some questions to consider throughout the experiment, in order to help me gauge the changes in my perception of impact, as well as other concerns about waste and compost. At the halfway point of the project, I have partial answers to each of these questions. 

-Is the level of waste surprising?

So far, the South kitchen (which serves 3 people) has been creating about one quart of food waste (1-2 pounds) per day. Considering that the average consumer in North America and Europe create between 200 and 250 pounds per person annually, it appears we are well under the average. However, the food waste collected in our kitchen only accounts for the meals we eat at home (most meals but not all), and the weight has ranged from much lower to much higher over the course of the week (a very small sample). By the end of next week, we will weigh the entire contents of the compost pile to see if we can come up with a more accurate figure. However, this figure will be limited because we have taken compost on occasion from other people outside of the house on occasion.  

-Are the types of waste, or ratios of certain types we produce, surprising? And how it is working?

So far, we have mostly vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grinds, and tea leaves. Unfortunately, although we have been adding some dried leaves and needles to mix into the compost pile, our compost pile is not decomposing as we might like. Because of the cold temperatures, our compost is essentially frozen all the way through. I have been tracking how much of our waste is Nitrogen-rich (such vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings) and what is carbon rich (such as dried leaves, wood chips, bark) because I know a healthy compost has a C/N ratio of between 20/1 and 30/1. I have been looking for signs of the heap being too nitrogen rich (odor, high temperature) or nitrogen poor (cold, inactive). While the heap has been very inactive, with the organic matter ridged and often frosty, our ratios are probably nitrogen rich because there is very little carbon rich material. I have added some dried leaves but not many and all of our food waste is either nitrogen rich or, in the case of egg shells, neither nitrogen nor carbon rich. However, even with nitrogen rich levels we have a cold and inactive compost pile, so I hypothesize that the inactivity is due to the cold weather and short time period elapsed thus far, not a chemical imbalance. A final clue that the cold is the biggest problem is that healthy compost should be quite moist, and when you squeeze ours their is often no liquid water that comes out. It is possible we will have to wait until later in the spring to see and smell our compost pile come to life. 

-When composting, do I find that I am compelled to deposit more, less, or the same amount of food waste?

Since I started composting, I have been happy to throw food scraps away into the bowl in the kitchen instead of the trashcan. It reminds me of home in Portland where composting is more common, and I'm proud that I finally stopped putting all my food waste in the landfill. So far, I haven't noticed a tendency to throw more food waste away, because in our kitchen we generally eat as much of the fruit or vegetable as possible. Pits, skin, and some seeds are generally the only thing that is composted. In our kitchen, leftovers and spoiled food are very uncommon. In the next week, I look forward to seeing if I tend to use less of an onion, avocado, or pepper because I don't feel as bad about it going to the landfill. Judging by my experience so far, I would be fairly surprised if this occurred. 

-Do the advantages of composting outweigh its disadvantages?

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total US energy budget, uses 50 percent of the US land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States." This alarming statistic shows how much of our resources we spend on what we eat. Unfortunately, much of this is wasted. The United States Composting Council estimated that of 245.7 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2005, two thirds is organic materials (yard trimmings, food waste, wood, paper and paperboard). In 2012, food waste alone was the largest category of municipal waste at 21 percent of total waste. All of the food waste and much of the other organic waste could all be diverted from the landfill if it was composted. Every bit of compost diverted adds to soil health, increases hygiene and health of the waste management process, and does so at a lower cost. The only disadvantages to compost are the time it takes to set up and maintain, and any financial costs one might incur to build or buy a composting container. For cities that pick up compost, an extra fleet of trucks might be required, but many individuals prefer to compost in their yard. For me, the time and financial cost is so minimal that the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. I do not foresee this changing in the next week, or as we continue to project throughout the spring. 

-Does composting make me re-evaluate other environmental commitments I have made, or ones that I might make in the future?

This project is a step towards aligning my values and my actions. The more readings and discussions we complete, the more I realize how many decisions I make just because I have always made them, not because they reinforce my values. Mike Siddoway's thoughtful approach to hunting and environmental stewardship, as well as some of the other blogs from my peers have helped me come to this conclusion. Here are a few moments from the past week where I re-evaluated my actions in a way I hadn't done before. 

-Deodorant: Sometimes the end of the deodorant stick can be uncomfortable when there is very little left. Because of this, sometimes I throw it away a bit prematurely. This time, even though I have a fresh stick ready, I am still using the old stick until it is completely gone. 

-Onion: For whatever reason, onion skins are the hardest thing for me and my roommates to remember to put in the compost. A couple of times this week, I dug through the trash and found a few onion skins to compost. 

-Manual Labor: Therapy or Domination? When I was working for my soccer coach doing manual labor in his yard, I realized how much he loves to take on new projects. As a very old but very strong and spry man, he seems to find things to do on the property more because he likes the exercise, the fresh air, and the challenge of a new project than out of genuine need. We rebuilt a fence so that the deer wouldn't get in and eat all the plants, and we build a protected clearing so he could build a shed or park an RV. Would Kheel or Warren attribute this to his being a man? Or could he be digging holes and moving rocks as a way to stay in touch with the natural? 

-The most significant re-evaluation I have made is my new attitude towards meat. Although I identify as an environmentalist and I dedicate significant time and energy to sustainability work, I am embarrassed to admit I have never seriously considered vegetarianism. I have always though that the 'save the animals' causes on TV were someone else's concern, and didn't fully reason through the moral arguments against eating meat. Since the readings and discussions we've had in class, I have consciously chosen to purchase and consume less meat. The meat we did purchase on the last grocery store trip was all organic and we did not buy the cheap and delicious chorizo or sausage that has been a staple of our diet all year. While most days of my life I've eaten meat twice or more, I have been eating meat at most once daily for the last week, at some points going a few days without consuming it. So far so good! The only time I really slipped was when I was in a rush and hadn't made dinner and my friend offered me a hot dog. I ate it. But I can say that I was imagining the conditions of the animal(s) I was eating while I did so. 

-What does my composting experience challenge or reinforce from the readings and discussion?

A few parts of Chapter 4 of the Hourdequin textbook stuck out to me as I consider the values and actions I've changed in the past week. First, in the section that compares rational and emotional arguments, I realized that I have been much more convinced by the emotional arguments thus far. Even in the rational arguments that are close to air-tight, the arguments that stick out in my mind as I walk through Rastall or King Soopers are the living conditions of the animals in factory farms and the accounts of intentional and respectful outdoorsman like Siddoway. Perhaps this is because the images and stories are fresh in my mind, but as of now I do not feel like "I want a burger but ought not to" I mostly just feel like "I don't want a burger." There is a fine line here, considering the reasons I don't want the burger are moral ones, but we will see how this changes over the next week and throughout the spring. 

Secondly, I like the idea of "contextual vegetarianism" because it allows me the freedom to make decisions based on context when choosing to eat me or not. In general, I think I will continue to eat meat in environments like upscale restaurants, but I hope to seriously decrease my meat intake in situations where I am fairly sure the meat is low quality and/or factory farmed. I do get a lot of pleasure out of meat substitutes, and I think I can completely avoid anything with meat in situations like 7-11 or airport food. Based on the context of where I am, I can work towards lessening my meat intake and seriously decrease my very low quality meat intake. While I'm sure "contextual vegetarianism" seems noncommittal to many, it is a step towards reflecting, evaluating and changing my habits. 

Broad question update: changes in my perceptions of impact?

So far, I've been impressed at the reflections and changes I've made it just one week. Although much of the impetus came not from the rotten pile of food but from other parts of class, this project's emphasis on practicing values has given me a sense of confidence that I can continue to set new goals and determine new processes with which to accomplish them. I look forward to my final reflection in a week's time.