Our World With and Without Compost!
Writing and Graphics by Bella Quiroa
It is widely known in the environmental sphere how beneficial and rejuvenating composting is to our world and its ecosystems, but have you ever thought about a world where composting is truly used to its fullest potential? Or, on the other end of the spectrum, have you thought about a world void of it? In an effort to illustrate the different realities in which we might find ourselves many years in the future, we’ve created the story of a girl living in both. Through these images and descriptions we try to illuminate both the wonderful impacts of composting and the destructive ones of life without it.
Due to this, we revert back to incinerating our waste, and Bella lives in close vicinity to one of these incineration plants. When waste is burned in incineration facilities it produces hazardous pollutants including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, acid gases, nitrogen oxides and cancer-causing dioxins, therefore Bella, her family, local wildlife and many of those in her community face increased rates of cancer, respiratory problems, birth defects and other adverse health impacts. In addition to the adverse health impacts inflicted on them by the air, we highlight the poor water quality brought upon the community from degraded soils, chemical runoff and incineration plant pollution. As we follow her journey to buying her family filtered water, we also see the state of the larger community in her city in relation to the severe weather events. As food rots in landfills, and incineration plants release a surplus of greenhouse gases, global warming continues to create favorable conditions for extreme weather events, such as flash floods, bigger storm surges, wildfires, severe droughts, greater snowfall and much more. Attributable to this, her city is left in disarray by the several severe weather occurrences they experience monthly.
Finally, when she reaches the supermarket we see the state of food production in the country, and how the lack of nutrients impacts their health, and natural balances of the world. Without compost, farmers across the country rely on chemical fertilizers to grow their crops. Chemical fertilizers are not only bad for the environment due to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they produce from their use and manufacturing, but they also have a terrible effect on crucial pollinator insects, and a plant’s resistance to pest attacks and disease. In turn, due to these crops not being as rich in nutrients, people have to take a variety of daily supplements each day to make up for the lack of necessary vitamins.
We show this extreme reality void of compost to cement the idea that composting is a crucial method of waste management that we shouldn’t take for granted. Though, if that wasn’t convincing enough, we move on to illuminate the wondrous world of compost being used to its fullest potential. We start in the same city, with the same girl, in the same year, but this time she is starting her day off by bringing her food waste from the past week out to the compost bin for the city to pick up. The city truck comes by and picks up her and her neighborhood's waste to be brought to a compost processing facility. As this happens, she goes over to her neighbor’s house to help with her garden, which has grown highly prosperous plants. This is due to the fact that they used the very compost produced at the processing facility in her soil. Though, there is something else happening to their soils that they don’t even realize, and it’s the soil’s ability to retain nutrients and water which protects their community from a need for chemical fertilizers and in turn, urban stormwater pollutants.
As Bella begins to make her way to the local farmers market, we see the larger impact of compost being put back into the city’s soil. Even as it rains heavily, she is comfortably walking through her city streets because of the soil’s robust ability to absorb and retain water. She never has to worry about flooding, and is able to breathe in the fresh air, free from any worry about its quality and the impact it will have on her health. This is attributable to compost’s ability to maximize the rate of carbon sequestration in the soil, and their food scraps not going to landfills to rot and release more methane.
Finally, the sky clears and she makes it to the farmers market. We see a lively scene filled with vibrant, buzzing creatures and people alike. There are a variety of birds out, including robins, wrens and bluebirds which have been sustained by the very insects compost piles cultivate. Bella gazes upon the clear, and glistening water as ducks flow down the stream. She and her community have always been ensured clean and safe drinking water as compost has natural filtering abilities, preventing water acidification. Finally she reaches the vegetable stand, each vegetable filled with many nutrients, and grabs what she needs.
Though it’s hard to recognize at times, the natural elements of our world are vastly connected, and as one element is set off balance, it will cause a ripple effect in the rest. If we continue to manage our waste as we do, the world will be harmed in more ways than one. As we release harmful toxins into our atmosphere and waters, we are not only killing the habitats and wildlife around it, but the people as well. That is why it is important now more than ever for us to take action, and we encourage composting to be part of your present and future sustainable ventures.