Save More Money Through Composting

Composting is a fabulous way to dispose of food and garden waste, as well as some compostable packaging. It is a great way to tackle climate change; however, one thing many may miss is that composting can actually save you a bunch of cash in the short and long term.

Let’s take a look at how developing a working compost can save you money in the garden and on utilities and help you achieve a more ‘waste not want not’ attitude to food.

Save on water

Using home compost on your flowers and garden can reduce the need to water your garden by about a third. So composting could actually help reduce your water bill! When used as topsoil, compost can stop moisture from evaporating from the soil underneath. Also, using organic composted food scraps on your plants actually helps them retain more water, so less time and water will be necessary to keep them healthy.

Save on fertilizer

Compost is incredibly nutrient-rich and is a great fertilizer for your plants; therefore, less store-bought fertilizer is needed, and you may even be able to make some extra cash by selling some to your neighbors. By using compost, you’ll then save on miles and fertilizer at the local garden store. All this ‘waste’ is actually the key to keeping a garden nutrient-rich and healthy.

Adopt a more conservative attitude to food

A long term saving that will most likely create a successful compost is adopting a good old fashioned ‘waste not want not’ attitude to food. It is pretty logical that a change in mindset around food, such as buying more food than composts easily rather than meat and eggs, would create further savings through more quality compost and less food waste overall. Being more realistic in portion sizes and buying correct amounts for a certain time period will mean less food goes bad, and for the food that does go bad, hopefully, it is food that composts well.

Much food waste is sent to landfill, where it is too tightly packed to break down properly. It emits methane gas, which is far more harmful than carbon dioxide. By composting, natural processes occur, and this is much more eco-friendly. The reason this may actually save you money is that you’re contributing to the fight against climate change, and if climate change reaches this so-called tipping point, we will all pay a huge price across the world. So you’re not actually just saving money; you’re saving the quality of your future.

How to get started composting?

If you have your own garden, then you’re pretty much set, you can either have a go at building your own compost out of wood, or you can pick up one from your local garden center. Certain services either take compost weekly or actually come and sort your compost out for you, such as improving the moisture, light and adding worms. You also don’t need to have a compost area because you can collect it in a small bin and drop it off at a local compost center.

If you’re interested in composting, check to see if your community is one of 200 in the U.S. that has curbside food waste collection or if there are nearby composting collection sites where you can bring your food waste. Another option is to compost your own waste to give your garden a boost, or someone else’s!