Objectives

• Describe the environmental, social, and economic benefits of composting
• Reflect on your personal reasons for composting
• Determine how you might encourage someone in your community to compost

The Impact of Trash

Food loss and waste is a major problem worldwide, and especially in the United States. The term food loss and waste refers to food that is available for human consumption that is discarded instead of being used. Food loss and waste can also include food that is not edible, but that can be recycled for another purpose.

Composting is one way to help reduce the impacts of food waste. Watch the video to learn more.

Opening Reflection

Reasons to Compost

There are many environmental, social, and economic reasons to compost. Watch the video to learn more.

Environmental Benefits

Social Benefits

Economic Benefits

Check for understanding

Categorize the benefits of composting as environmental, social, or economic.

Closing Reflection

Summary

Thank you for completing this lesson. As we have learned, composting has numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits. Whatever your personal reasons for composting, it is a vital part of being an engaged, responsible, and sustainable citizen in your community.

References

Food Waste FAQs. USDA. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs

Platt, B. (2018, April 2). Infographic: Compost impacts more than you think. Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://ilsr.org/compost-impacts-infographic/

Rominger, A. (2020, June 29). 15 benefits of composting for the environment, economy, & community. Grow Ensemble. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://growensemble.com/benefits-of-composting/