CAIRO: In Latin, compost means “to put together.” Simply put, when composting, you combine animal and plant- based leftovers with air, nitrogen and water. Since earth forces take thousands of years to build a good soil structure, humans can reduce this span drastically, by adding compost made up of humus, microorganisms and worms. We add adequate amounts of compostable materials to the soil to amend and fix its properties to yield healthier crops and allow the soil to be sustainably healthy for future yields. Farmers and experienced gardeners alike acknowledge that yields and soil fertility maintenance depends upon the recovery of organic material. Plants depend on these organic materials found in soil as they are their nutrients' supply and they protect them from disease . Compost has many benefits over commercial fertilizers, and could possibly replace and/or supplement them for homeowners, gardeners and landscapers. The problems with commercial fertilizers is their tendency to concentrate in soil runoff and thus contaminate our surface and ground waters with nitrate, which is s health hazard for humans. Adding compost to the soil reduces this run off and thus protects our water sources. Composting has a large array of environmental benefits, but it's also economically beneficial. In Egypt, Municipal Solid Waste (trash) is not new to us. By composting, it's possible to remove large amounts of this trash (compostable components) and thus reduce the amounts reaching our landfills and incinerators. In addition composting will decrease the cost of the disposal of the initially large amounts of waste. The most notable environmental benefit of composting is that the organic materials would have been diverted from landfills. This lessens the production of methane and leachate formulation in the landfills. Methane is thought of as eight times more potent than Carbon Dioxide, another Green House Gas. Thus, we're effectively curbing Green House Gases by composting. Compost made at home is typically made of fruit, vegetables, egg shells, leaves, coffee grounds. There is no specific recipe though, and the way to do it is just to add organic items and watch nature break them down to the fertile compost. Organic compost should include only that, organic stuff. The vegetables and fruits should be grown organically, so their peelings and leftovers won't have any residual pesticides . Similarly, the animal manure used, if any, should come from organically reared animals which didn't receive medications or hormones. Taking all this into consideration when making truly organic compost is a challenge. It requires questioning the farms and the many sources of the products purchased. However, people shouldn't shy away from compost because it seems like a hassle. In Egypt, it's mostly used in gardening and by some farmers for agriculture, but the benefits are varied and promising, and it decreases one of our most important problems: municipal solid waste, or trash. Composting should be the norm and not the exception; we'll discuss this further in future issues and find the best ways for you to start composting and benefit your environment, plants and the country's growing trash problem. Eco Options Egypt
