Last week I spoke to a man who has been organic farming since the '80s. He also has a construction business and does composting. He advised me that composting will not lead to wealth. He gave me a lot of insight and pointers. "Life is about relationships." "The biology is easy. Marketing is the hard part." He knows the value of his final product. Educating people about it creates the challenge.
My goal in this is to create a service that builds on sustainability and focuses on community. Tossing old vegetables into a landfill is a vast waste. Literally. That caustic, anaerobic environment creates methane -- which is 25 times more powerful of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide -- and leachate. It is very disappointing that in 2016 we are throwing this resource away.
Instead, let's do this:
Plant.
Grow.
Harvest.
Consume.
Compost.
Repeat.
A good way to think of it is this: throwing away vegetable waste is like going to a fast food restaurant for food. It's cheap. It's quick. No need to think too much about it. The cost comes in many years down the road when health issues arise in the form of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular issues. Composting this organic matter is an investment in the future health of the soil we grow our sustenance.
A soil amended with compost doesn't require chemical fertilizers which can pollute local tributaries. And instead of that one quick dose of a chemical fertilizer, compost releases nutrients to the plant roots slowly as the plant needs them.
I need to be able to operate without feeling overburdened, but I'm not trying to amass millions by doing this either. The value of a beneficial legacy is much greater. Wealth is relative.
My goal in this is to create a service that builds on sustainability and focuses on community. Tossing old vegetables into a landfill is a vast waste. Literally. That caustic, anaerobic environment creates methane -- which is 25 times more powerful of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide -- and leachate. It is very disappointing that in 2016 we are throwing this resource away.
Instead, let's do this:
Plant.
Grow.
Harvest.
Consume.
Compost.
Repeat.
A good way to think of it is this: throwing away vegetable waste is like going to a fast food restaurant for food. It's cheap. It's quick. No need to think too much about it. The cost comes in many years down the road when health issues arise in the form of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular issues. Composting this organic matter is an investment in the future health of the soil we grow our sustenance.
A soil amended with compost doesn't require chemical fertilizers which can pollute local tributaries. And instead of that one quick dose of a chemical fertilizer, compost releases nutrients to the plant roots slowly as the plant needs them.
I need to be able to operate without feeling overburdened, but I'm not trying to amass millions by doing this either. The value of a beneficial legacy is much greater. Wealth is relative.
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