Monday, Mar 30

Dear Reader,

I’m not sure where you’re reading this, but where Dot lives, it’s mud season. Or, as my colleague describes it: February, Mud, Mud, Mud, June. 

But mud turns Dot’s thoughts to compost. Because mud means thawing, which means that the frozen pile of discarded food that is your compost heap is about to spring back to life. (Did you continue to compost over the winter? You can, you know!) 

When Dot’s friends and readers ask me what actions they can take to tend to our ailing planet, my immediate answer is: Reduce (or eliminate!) food waste — an easy and effective thing that anyone can do. Food waste contributes about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, have you seen the price of groceries? (Don’t miss Bluedot’s Guide to Avoiding Food Waste, with instructions on where to store food in your fridge to maximize freshness.) It makes sense (and cents!) to use up what’s in your fridge. As for what’s truly rotten? Give it over to compost!

Far too many people don’t compost because they imagine a soggy, smelly pile of rotting food. But Cass Marketos, who writes the Substack newsletter The Rot, wants to change that. “Relax, you can’t really get compost ‘wrong,’” she insists, noting that “The fact is: everything rots. It will rot whether you put it in a pile or flat on the ground, it will rot whether you mix it up with other stuff or leave it alone, and it will rot whether you turn it every day or don’t touch it for a whole year. ‘Compost’ is just there to help things rot faster and perhaps with less smells or while attracting less animals. It’s a label that’s entirely about human convenience.”

Ready to rot? 

Cass Marketos is cavalier about her compost instructions, urging people to just pile their food scraps in a corner of their yard, add some leaves, and let it rot. If animals are a problem, keep it as far from your house as possible.

Dot’s a bit more persnickety. I rely on a heavy-duty plastic composter I got at one of my city’s eco days, where residents can buy digesters and composters at cost (I have a digester, too, which I use for pet waste). And my city recently instituted a curbside composting program, which accepts far more kinds of food than what you’d put in a typical backyard composter, including meat, dairy, and cooking oils.  

But Dot’s point is … food waste can be transformed into rich compost for your garden or trees. Have more than you need? Invite friends or neighbors to partake of your compost. What better way to demonstrate care for our planet than giving away valuable dirt? 

Biodegradably,

Dot