The mature compost can then be spread over soil, so plants can grow and soil can hold carbon. This capability has an underappreciated role in mitigating climate change.
Reducing the emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, is often considered critical, but it is only one advantage—drawing excess carbon out of the atmosphere is the other. Not to mention reducing the amount of organic material discarded in landfills! The most common use of food waste in the United States is in municipal composting programs. Cities such as San Francisco, Calif. In some cities, such as Seattle, it is against the law to put food scraps in the garbage.
Other cities, such as Madison, use anaerobic composting to capture methane and they use it to fuel cars, trucks, and buses. Young people, in particular, are conscious of protecting the environment and taking responsibility for the products they use. Cornell Composting. Basic Principles of Composting. What is Composting? Julia R. Barrett is a science writer who lives in Madison, Wis. This is her first article in ChemMatters. In this case, it is best to stick with aerobic composting of fruit and vegetable scraps, yard waste, and other plant matter.
Other waste, such as dog and cat feces, would decompose in the pile, but the pile would not be large enough to generate enough heat to kill disease-causing organisms, particularly worm eggs. Meat scraps—including what may have been in your forgotten half-sandwich— and foods that contain high levels of fats and oils are also not recommended for the compost pile. They are more difficult to break down, and they attract pests. No yard?
No digester? You can still experiment with composting using plastic soda bottles and some plant-based scraps. After assembling your composter following the instructions, set it or hang it in a warm spot, such as a sunny window or under a plant light.
Check it daily and record observations, such as the appearance of the composting material and any other changes you notice. For example, consider: Are there any odors? As the weeks go by, the scraps will become increasingly less distinguishable from one another, and the overall mass will become smaller. If you have a lot of soda bottles, conduct more than one experiment — change one factor in each system. What happens if you change the ratio of fruit and vegetable scraps to items with a lot of lignin for example, newspapers and wood chips?
What happens if you place composters with the same contents in areas with different temperatures? If you add a small amount of partially composted material to fresh material in a new composter, does the decomposition rate change?
Careers Launch and grow your career with career services and resources. Communities Find a chemistry community of interest and connect on a local and global level. Discover Chemistry Explore the interesting world of science with articles, videos and more. Awards Recognizing and celebrating excellence in chemistry and celebrate your achievements.
Funding Funding to support the advancement of the chemical sciences through research projects. By Julia R. Download PDF. Spanish Version. We hope you're learning lots of new things and having lots of fun! Absolutely, Wonder Friend! We list the Wonder Sources where we find the info for the Wonders on the right hand side. We encourage you to check those sources out, too! Thanks for asking, Brooke! The following is how you would cite the Wonder of the Day.
You may use Wonderopolis as the author and since we do not list the publish date, you can use the date you accessed the article for information. If that was today, then use today's date for your citation. Hi, jessica! Thanks for letting us know! We're sorry about that. Sometimes over time links get changed or go bad. We have updated the link to a new activity! Have fun! Hello, meredith!
Great question, joy! Rotten food can really upset our stomach. It's not fun when that happens! Plus we don't want to waste food by letting it rot! There was a lot of good information in it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Welcome back, Joy! You're right when you say rotten food can make your stomach hurt. Welcome, Blair! Rotten food definitely is nasty! We must be sure not to waste food and always dispose of it properly to try and avoid this problem.
Thanks for sharing! Hi Charlesthompson! You're right. When we don't eat food and don't dispose of food, it can rot. Then it's a nasty thing to clean up! Thanks for commenting! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition.
You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Why does food rot? What is photodegradation? How can you prevent food from spoiling? Tags: See All Tags chemical , decay , enzyme , food , light , microbial , microorganism , moisture , mold , oxygen , photodegradation , preservative , reaction , rotten , science , smell , souring , spoilage , taste , temperature , yeast.
Wonder What's Next? Keep learning even more when you check out the following activities with a friend or family member: Ready for a field trip? Ask an adult friend or family member to take you on a field trip to a local grocery store. These workers have to be very familiar with food freshness. What steps do they take to make sure that all food sold is fresh and healthy? Do they ever have problems with food rotting?
What do they do with rotten food? How do you keep food from rotting at your house? Talk with an adult friend or family member about the steps they take to ensure that all food is kept as fresh and as safe as possible. What are some of the methods used? Which are most effective? Which foods tend to rot fastest and need to be replaced most often? Up for a challenge? Try this interesting Rotting Food science experiment! You'll need a clear jar with a lid and a few basic foods, including cheese, bread, fruit, and vegetables.
Be sure to follow the directions carefully. You'll probably want help from an adult friend or family member, too. Which food do you think will rot fastest? Did your experiment prove your guess to be correct or not? Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words mold yeast borne fuel seed battle enzyme decay nutrient tactic environment inhibit percentage deterioration microorganism photodegradation refrigerating preservative Take the Wonder Word Challenge.
Join the Discussion. Love the info. Jan 16, Dec 17, It is interesting. Thanks for sharing, storm! Dec 9, You're welcome, skylee! How are you using Wonderopolis today? Angela cox Nov 10, Keep reading to learn how long it takes for common items to decompose:. But how long does it take for food to decompose?
But out in nature, it would take significantly longer for all of these items to decompose. One that might surprise you, lettuce takes 25 years to decompose! What about yard waste?
Wood from trees, like stumps, branches, and limbs will take a very long time to decompose, upwards of years if left whole. The smaller pieces take less time to break down. For tree leaves it can take 6 month to 1 year to fully decompose, while grass clippings only take a couple of weeks. Food and organic matter make for excellent compost! They make a nutrient rich additive for soil and can drastically reduce the amount of trash you send to the landfill.
We take branches, limbs, leaves, and grass clippings that we then turn into compost that our customers can use subject to availability. Learn more on our blog all about Yard Waste! A lot of household items end up in landfills and many of them could be recycled instead of rotting with other trash. For instance, one of the most recyclable materials is metal.
0コメント