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In the jungle or forest, what happens to plants or animals when they die? Does someone gather and transport them to a landfill site? No way. Their nutrients naturally break down and are recycled back into the earth in a process called decomposition.
Composting, a human-driven process, is inspired by nature’s own closed-loop cycle. Creating compost—a natural fertilizer that’s made from yard and household organic waste—is an eco-friendly, easy, and cost-effective step for establishing a sustainable garden, conscious lifestyle and environmental awareness.
Basically, leftovers and byproducts—all matter from plants and animals—are tossed into a bin (FYI: this is an outdoor project). Microscopic organisms decompose the pile and enriching soil-fuel is leftover. Like decomposition, composting is an all-natural recycling process!
But, what if you don’t have a garden?
Not to worry. Nowadays, a handful of progressive facilities gather and process organic waste. Similar to trash or recycling operations, organic waste management ensures proper waste disposal and that no contaminants enter the soil or water. For instance, what if an oil-filled glass container accidentally ends up in a compost bin?
An organic waste site isn’t a sole compost stack in a backyard: It’s a grand-scale composting business, which needs effective, efficient operation to secure public and environmental safety and benefits. The GK FINGER-SCREEN™ for instance can effectively screen and separate containers and other waste to create a clean organic waste streams.
Consider the consumables that live in your refrigerator and you’ll have an entire list of what’s considered to be “organic waste:” fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, eggshells, rice, beans, cheese, and—after the turkey or chicken is nibbled up—bones.
A handful of food containers qualify as well: waxed cardboard product—such as for take-out dishes—frozen food boxes, napkins, paper towels and plates, milk or juice cartons, tea bags, coffee filters (and the grounds), plus parchment and waxed papers.
On the far end of the spectrum plant-based waste on the list are plants, flowers, and yard waste.
Contact your local waste management facility today to ask about the most up-to-date recycling and organic waste facilities in your region. Don’t worry—adding another bin for organic waste is easy!
Recycling can be an equipment- and resource-intensive process, with many facilities preferring dual or multi-stream processing to expedite the filtering of different materials. But single stream recycling also offers benefits to consumers and facilities alike. So which one is right for your recycling facility? Before digging into the argument of which method of recycling is […]
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Municipal solid waste, or MSW, can be recovered and turned into biofuel. This process of turning garbage into fuel works twofold: it lessens the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and it keeps trash out of landfills. When MSW is burned rather than buried in landfills, the volume of waste is reduced by about 87%. In […]
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Construction and demolition (C&D) materials include debris generated during a renovation, demolition or construction of civil engineering structures. The EPA estimated that in 2015, nearly 550 million tons of C&D debris overall was generated in the United States alone — more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste generated that same year. Some of […]
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