Why Make Compost?

Environmental Benefits
Man Holding Handful of Compost - Photo Courtsey of Jepson Prairie Organics
Compost use can result in a variety of environmental benefits. The following are a few of the most important benefits:
Compost enriches soils
Compost has the ability to help regenerate poor soils. The composting process encourages the production of beneficial micro-organisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) which in turn break down organic matter to create humus. Humus--a rich nutrient-filled material--increases the nutrient content in soils and helps soils retain moisture. Compost has also been shown to suppress plant diseases and pests, reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers, and promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
Compost helps cleanup (remediate) contaminated soil
The composting process has been shown to absorb odors and treat semivolatile and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including heating fuels, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and explosives. It has also been shown to bind heavy metals and prevent them from migrating to water resources or being absorbed by plants. The compost process degrades and, in some cases, completely eliminates wood preservatives, pesticides, and both chlorinated and nonchlorinated hydrocarbons in contaminated soils.

Compost Used as Erosion Deterent
Compost helps prevent pollution
Composting organic materials that have been diverted from landfills ultimately avoids the production of methane and leachate formulation in the landfills. Compost has the ability to prevent pollutants in stormwater runoff from reaching surface water resources. Compost has also been shown to prevent erosion and silting on embankments parallel to creeks, lakes, and rivers, and prevents erosion and turf loss on roadsides, hillsides, playing fields, and golf courses.
Using compost offers economic benefits
Using compost can reduce the need for water, fertilizers, and pesticides. It serves as a marketable commodity and is a low-cost alternative to standard landfill cover and artificial soil amendments. Composting also extends municipal landfill life by diverting organic materials from landfills and provides a less costly alternative to conventional methods of remediating (cleaning) contaminated soil.

Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. That's a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead!
Composting offers the obvious benefits of resource efficiency and creating a useful product from organic waste that would otherwise have been landfilled. On this web site, you will learn about the following:
Basic Information - provides a general description of what compost is and which materials should and should not be composted.
Where You Live - contains information about regional and state composting programs.
Organic Materials - provides more detailed information about the specific materials good for composting.
Frequent Questions - presents frequent questions about how and why you should compost.
Laws/Statutes - discusses regulations for organics materials and composting facilities.
Environmental Benefits - explains how composting benefits the environment.
Science/Technology - discusses how the composting process works and the different methods of composting, such as creating your own composting pile
Publications - contains a list of composting and related publications

http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/benefits.htm