WHY COMPOST?
The meat and potatoes of compost
There’s a lot of reasons to compost!
Click below to dig in deeper.
Reduce GHG emissions
Stop filling our landfill
Healthier soil
Climate Resilience
Reduce water usage
Store carbon in soil
Compost Delivery
No stink in the kitchen
Sustainable Economy
For our community
Healthier Soil
Here in Grand Junction our soil is a combination of clay and sand, both of which are very low in organic matter, an important part of plant health and growth. Compost helps rebuild organic matter in our soil. For clay soils, compost helps aerate the compacted soil, so water can permeate more freely and become available to roots. For sandy soils, compost helps add water retention, meaning water stays where the roots need it for longer. By diverting your food waste to compost, you are helping to create more of this valuable community resource.
Stop filling our landfill
Let’s start with the fact that the Mesa County Landfill and their team are amazing! They handle an incredible quantity and diversity of waste and they make some great compost “Mesa Magic” from yard waste. We as a community have been filling our landfill with literal tons of food waste. As of 2018, food waste made up 13% of everything thrown into our landfill, at 21,420 metric tons every year. Because the food waste is buried and deprived of oxygen, it ends up creating methane as it breaks down – a very potent greenhouse gas that they are forced to burn off with expensive flare systems. Also, the faster we fill our landfills, the sooner we’ll be forced to expand to new, costly disposal sites.
Reduce water usage
It’s no secret that Colorado is extremely susceptible to drought and Mesa County is no exception. We can significantly reduce the amount of water usage we need for farming, gardening, parks, and lawns by applying compost. This is because water is held in the soil longer when there is more organic material present, meaning you don’t have to water your garden as often.
Support local, circular, sustainable economies
Tired of feeling like your beliefs are under represented? At Compost Junction, we believe that the best way to enact change is at the local level. As a community, the more we support our local green industries, the larger they will grow. By participating in eco-friendly practices like composting, you are voting with your dollar. By signing up for our monthly service you are also supporting a wealth of other sustainable businesses like our processor, Delta Compost.
For our world
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
When food waste is dumped in a landfill it creates a LOT of methane gas. That’s not just bad for smells, it bad for climate change and global warming. Over a 20 year time, methane traps 80X more heat than carbon dioxide, making it an extreme accelerant of global warming. By composting food waste, we are able to mitigate a huge portion of the methane created (long story short – just add oxygen!).
Store carbon in soil
Did you know that applying compost actually helps with carbon sequestration? Because compost creates healthy soil, microbes are able to thrive within. These little guys are capable of absorbing a shocking amount of carbon (and it takes them a lot less time to grow than trees!). It’s estimated that a 1% increase in soil organic matter or ~1/4″ application of compost can store 10 tons of carbon per acre in the soil itself.
Climate resilience
Unfortunately, climate change is already here and happening. Fortunately compost can help prevent some of its consequences. Compost can help fight desertification by improving water retention in the soil. It also helps reduce impact of flooding by providing erosion control and by making clay like soils more permeable so water doesn’t collect on the surface.
For you
Compost delivered to your door
Twice a year we will deliver compost to your front door. You’ll get 10 gallons worth each time, once in early spring to get your garden ready and once in late fall to help put your garden to bed for the winter. You’ve worked hard to create some quality compost – it’s only fair you get some back!
No more stink in the kitchen
Throwing scraps in the kitchen garbage can get pretty smelly. When you take that trash out to your garbage, those smells can attract pests. One of the benefits of placing your food waste in our sealable buckets is that those smells get trapped inside, making your kitchen smell fresher and your garbage less attractive to critters. We go a step further and line your bucket with a compostable bag, so there are no residual scraps left behind throughout our visits.