擁有7.5萬(wàn)人口的美國(guó)蒙大拿州米蘇拉市因?yàn)橐魳?、精品酒店、餐館和釀酒廠而生機(jī)勃勃,,讓成群結(jié)隊(duì)的戶外愛好者沐浴在它的小城魅力里,。這座“花園城市”數(shù)百年來(lái)以肥沃的農(nóng)田滋養(yǎng)著周邊地區(qū)。今天,,它也展示出多樣的土壤,、家庭花園和豐富的農(nóng)業(yè)資源帶來(lái)的饋贈(zèng)。
和大多數(shù)城鎮(zhèn)一樣,,富饒最終會(huì)導(dǎo)致浪費(fèi),,而擺在眼前的問題是,廚余垃圾應(yīng)該怎么處理:送進(jìn)垃圾填埋場(chǎng)還是堆肥,?為什么要把有機(jī)物和其他垃圾分開以及怎么分,,是個(gè)普遍的難題。在美國(guó),,平均每個(gè)家庭會(huì)把所購(gòu)食物的32%扔掉,,總價(jià)值2400億美元。這里面既包括植物的莖,、皮,、核,也包括變質(zhì)食物,、過期食品和剩飯菜,。從表面上看,扔掉食物只是司空見慣的日常,。但等到昨天的晚餐進(jìn)了垃圾箱,,之后的旅程就變成了環(huán)境問題,。
在垃圾填埋場(chǎng)里,食物垃圾堆積成山,、逐漸腐爛,,釋放出有毒的甲烷氣體。這個(gè)被稱為“埋葬”的生物學(xué)過程在2019年排放的甲烷占甲烷總排放量的15.1%,。根據(jù)世界野生動(dòng)物組織(World Wildlife Organization)的數(shù)據(jù),,食物的損失和浪費(fèi)產(chǎn)生的甲烷相當(dāng)于3260萬(wàn)輛汽車排放的溫室氣體總和。
對(duì)位于五座山脈之間的米蘇拉而言,,這種污染源帶來(lái)的危害尤其嚴(yán)重,,因?yàn)楫?dāng)?shù)氐哪鏈睾鸵盎鹨呀?jīng)讓空氣質(zhì)量變差了。當(dāng)然,,最好的解決辦法是完全不浪費(fèi)食物,,但充分利用無(wú)法避免的殘羹剩飯做點(diǎn)有益的事情也是一個(gè)有價(jià)值的方法??v觀全美,,部分城市的垃圾處理方案包括綠色分類,市民只需要把廚房里的殘羹剩飯和花園里修剪下來(lái)的枝葉都扔進(jìn)綠色垃圾箱,,剩下的事情完全交給市政,,這項(xiàng)家務(wù)活就十分輕松地完成了。然而,,米蘇拉和許多其他地方?jīng)]有類似的服務(wù),,只有公共堆肥設(shè)施或垃圾投放點(diǎn),市民需要把可堆肥的垃圾自行送往指定地點(diǎn),。
Soil Cycle是一個(gè)免稅非盈利組織,,他們騎著自行車從家家戶戶、餐館甚至旅社收集裝滿了可堆肥食物的桶,。四年前,,執(zhí)行董事凱特琳·劉易斯發(fā)現(xiàn)了綠色收集的需求,因此驅(qū)使她(嗯,,騎著自行車)為米蘇拉的食物垃圾處理開辟了一條新道路,。
“這項(xiàng)工作很有必要,而成果唾手可得,?!眲⒁姿拐f(shuō)。在創(chuàng)辦Soil Cycle之前,,劉易斯是倡導(dǎo)自行車安全和可持續(xù)交通方式的自行車大使,。“我將兩者結(jié)合,開始了這項(xiàng)自行車上的食品垃圾收集服務(wù),?!?/p>
騎車比開車減少了1800磅(約816.47千克)的碳排放。2021年,,Soil Cycle收集了9.6萬(wàn)磅(約43544.87千克)的垃圾,,這些原本要扔進(jìn)填埋場(chǎng)的垃圾變成了精心培育的堆肥,進(jìn)入了花園和農(nóng)場(chǎng),。是的,,在普通人看來(lái),堆肥似乎又臟又臭,,但有“輪”者事竟成,。
Soil Cycle的成員會(huì)收到一個(gè)5加侖(約18.93升)的桶和一份“回收清單”,上面列出了哪些東西能夠放進(jìn)桶里,、哪些不可以放:基本上,,肉類和奶制品之外的所有有機(jī)物都能夠回收,肉類和奶制品分解得慢,,還會(huì)吸引堆肥場(chǎng)的嚙齒類動(dòng)物,。當(dāng)?shù)匾约懊绹?guó)其他地方還有其他類似項(xiàng)目,例如米蘇拉堆肥(Missoula Compost)等,,為本地家庭和企業(yè)提供了差不多的解決方案。劉易斯說(shuō),,業(yè)內(nèi)人士已經(jīng)形成了一個(gè)緊密聯(lián)系的圈子,。他們一起分享技巧和經(jīng)驗(yàn),幫助彼此取得成功,?!拔覀兘?jīng)常打電話給另一個(gè)城市的人,問他們用什么樣的袋子,,或者最喜歡什么樣的自行車掛鉤這種屬實(shí)很小眾的問題,。”
劉易斯和她的團(tuán)隊(duì)由三名兼職員工,、四名自行車手和五名董事會(huì)成員組成,,她們每周都組織垃圾采集,然后運(yùn)往Free Cycles Missoula的露天場(chǎng)地,,她在那里租了1000平方英尺(約92.90平方米),。在這里,腐爛的物質(zhì)要先后經(jīng)過熱堆肥箱,、堆肥容器,、育有紅色蠕蟲的箱子進(jìn)行處理,然后送往蒙大拿第一個(gè)黑水虻農(nóng)場(chǎng)處理乳制品和肉類等更難分解的物質(zhì),。經(jīng)過了這種神奇的轉(zhuǎn)變后,,廚余垃圾就變成了一系列產(chǎn)品,,包括蚯蚓糞、堆肥茶和生物炭(堆肥接種木炭),。這里還可以作為教育中心供市民和學(xué)校實(shí)地參觀,,親身了解食物殘?jiān)臐撛谀ЯΑ?/p>
米蘇拉城市示范項(xiàng)目(Missoula Urban Demonstration Project)的執(zhí)行主任凱西·瓦倫西亞說(shuō):“因?yàn)镾oil Cycle和其他堆肥收集服務(wù)的存在,更多人意識(shí)到能夠選擇堆肥,,而不僅僅是扔掉食物,。”米蘇拉城市示范項(xiàng)目的主要職能是為人們提供可持續(xù)生活工具,,提升公眾意識(shí),,該組織與Soil Cycle合作舉辦了一些工作坊,最近,,他們幫助Soil Cycle共同建立了一個(gè)雨水集蓄系統(tǒng),。這樣的合作關(guān)系有助于提高人們對(duì)堆肥過程和改變垃圾用途的認(rèn)識(shí)。在大部分市民看來(lái),,堆肥太復(fù)雜了,。因此,瓦倫西亞指出,,幫助人們打破堆肥堆很難建造維護(hù)的先入之見是最大的難點(diǎn)之一,。但有了這些項(xiàng)目,人們不需要做臟活,,只需要做好垃圾分類就可以了,。
2017年,Soil Cycle的成員丹尼爾·摩根從坦帕灣搬到米蘇拉后開始堆肥,。由于當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)場(chǎng)資源豐富,,他決定過一種減少包裝的生活,這讓他能夠親眼看到自己都積攢了哪些垃圾,?!皩?duì)我來(lái)說(shuō),親眼看到自己制造了多少食物垃圾的那一刻,,讓我大徹大悟,。”摩根回憶道,,那時(shí)他開始把食物與塑料和紙板垃圾進(jìn)行分類,。“食物殘?jiān)剂烁黝惱娜种?,它們可以用?lái)施肥,,滋養(yǎng)花園。不需要送進(jìn)垃圾填埋場(chǎng)?!?/p>
摩根在家里就能夠見證垃圾轉(zhuǎn)化為堆肥的奇跡,。成為會(huì)員的一個(gè)好處是每年都可以領(lǐng)取營(yíng)養(yǎng)堆肥禮品袋?!澳玫竭@個(gè)禮包就像過圣誕節(jié)一樣,。”摩根說(shuō),,他回想起了在門口看到一袋垃圾時(shí)的喜悅,。“盡管今年是史上最干旱的一年,,我們卻迎來(lái)了最大的豐收,。如果不下雨,我就能夠給植物澆水,,但沒有什么可以比堆肥更能夠滋養(yǎng)土壤了,。”
隨著Soil Cycle的發(fā)展,,它們?cè)谡麄€(gè)密蘇拉甚至遠(yuǎn)至圣巴巴拉都建起了合作關(guān)系,。比如,幫助特納農(nóng)場(chǎng)(Turner Farms)重新獲得南瓜的大豐收,,幫助Sun & Swell Foods把包裝材料進(jìn)行堆肥,。然而,挑戰(zhàn)仍然存在:如何獲得更多的堆肥空間,、資金以及改變?nèi)藗兊膽B(tài)度和習(xí)慣,。后者往往可以通過教育來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)?!傲私馓盥駡?chǎng)的食物垃圾分解會(huì)帶來(lái)什么后果,讓人非常震驚,?!眲⒁姿拐f(shuō),“我認(rèn)為,,這種轉(zhuǎn)變是一種真正的心態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)變,,讓人們以更負(fù)責(zé)任的方式處理食物?!?/p>
對(duì)于沒有大規(guī)模設(shè)置綠色垃圾收集桶的地方來(lái)說(shuō),,公共部分正在以一種更豐富的方式進(jìn)行食物垃圾的回收循環(huán)利用。對(duì)家庭或社區(qū)而言,,垃圾處理不必成為繁瑣的負(fù)擔(dān),,而是能夠(而且就是)像騎自行車一樣簡(jiǎn)單。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:Agatha
擁有7.5萬(wàn)人口的美國(guó)蒙大拿州米蘇拉市因?yàn)橐魳贰⒕肪频?、餐館和釀酒廠而生機(jī)勃勃,,讓成群結(jié)隊(duì)的戶外愛好者沐浴在它的小城魅力里。這座“花園城市”數(shù)百年來(lái)以肥沃的農(nóng)田滋養(yǎng)著周邊地區(qū),。今天,,它也展示出多樣的土壤、家庭花園和豐富的農(nóng)業(yè)資源帶來(lái)的饋贈(zèng),。
和大多數(shù)城鎮(zhèn)一樣,,富饒最終會(huì)導(dǎo)致浪費(fèi),而擺在眼前的問題是,,廚余垃圾應(yīng)該怎么處理:送進(jìn)垃圾填埋場(chǎng)還是堆肥,?為什么要把有機(jī)物和其他垃圾分開以及怎么分,是個(gè)普遍的難題,。在美國(guó),,平均每個(gè)家庭會(huì)把所購(gòu)食物的32%扔掉,總價(jià)值2400億美元,。這里面既包括植物的莖,、皮、核,,也包括變質(zhì)食物,、過期食品和剩飯菜。從表面上看,,扔掉食物只是司空見慣的日常,。但等到昨天的晚餐進(jìn)了垃圾箱,之后的旅程就變成了環(huán)境問題,。
在垃圾填埋場(chǎng)里,,食物垃圾堆積成山、逐漸腐爛,,釋放出有毒的甲烷氣體,。這個(gè)被稱為“埋葬”的生物學(xué)過程在2019年排放的甲烷占甲烷總排放量的15.1%。根據(jù)世界野生動(dòng)物組織(World Wildlife Organization)的數(shù)據(jù),,食物的損失和浪費(fèi)產(chǎn)生的甲烷相當(dāng)于3260萬(wàn)輛汽車排放的溫室氣體總和,。
對(duì)位于五座山脈之間的米蘇拉而言,這種污染源帶來(lái)的危害尤其嚴(yán)重,,因?yàn)楫?dāng)?shù)氐哪鏈睾鸵盎鹨呀?jīng)讓空氣質(zhì)量變差了,。當(dāng)然,最好的解決辦法是完全不浪費(fèi)食物,,但充分利用無(wú)法避免的殘羹剩飯做點(diǎn)有益的事情也是一個(gè)有價(jià)值的方法,??v觀全美,部分城市的垃圾處理方案包括綠色分類,,市民只需要把廚房里的殘羹剩飯和花園里修剪下來(lái)的枝葉都扔進(jìn)綠色垃圾箱,,剩下的事情完全交給市政,這項(xiàng)家務(wù)活就十分輕松地完成了,。然而,,米蘇拉和許多其他地方?jīng)]有類似的服務(wù),只有公共堆肥設(shè)施或垃圾投放點(diǎn),,市民需要把可堆肥的垃圾自行送往指定地點(diǎn),。
Soil Cycle是一個(gè)免稅非盈利組織,他們騎著自行車從家家戶戶,、餐館甚至旅社收集裝滿了可堆肥食物的桶,。四年前,執(zhí)行董事凱特琳·劉易斯發(fā)現(xiàn)了綠色收集的需求,,因此驅(qū)使她(嗯,,騎著自行車)為米蘇拉的食物垃圾處理開辟了一條新道路。
“這項(xiàng)工作很有必要,,而成果唾手可得,。”劉易斯說(shuō),。在創(chuàng)辦Soil Cycle之前,,劉易斯是倡導(dǎo)自行車安全和可持續(xù)交通方式的自行車大使?!拔覍烧呓Y(jié)合,,開始了這項(xiàng)自行車上的食品垃圾收集服務(wù)?!?/p>
騎車比開車減少了1800磅(約816.47千克)的碳排放,。2021年,Soil Cycle收集了9.6萬(wàn)磅(約43544.87千克)的垃圾,,這些原本要扔進(jìn)填埋場(chǎng)的垃圾變成了精心培育的堆肥,,進(jìn)入了花園和農(nóng)場(chǎng)。是的,,在普通人看來(lái),堆肥似乎又臟又臭,,但有“輪”者事竟成,。
Soil Cycle的成員會(huì)收到一個(gè)5加侖(約18.93升)的桶和一份“回收清單”,上面列出了哪些東西能夠放進(jìn)桶里,、哪些不可以放:基本上,,肉類和奶制品之外的所有有機(jī)物都能夠回收,,肉類和奶制品分解得慢,還會(huì)吸引堆肥場(chǎng)的嚙齒類動(dòng)物,。當(dāng)?shù)匾约懊绹?guó)其他地方還有其他類似項(xiàng)目,,例如米蘇拉堆肥(Missoula Compost)等,為本地家庭和企業(yè)提供了差不多的解決方案,。劉易斯說(shuō),,業(yè)內(nèi)人士已經(jīng)形成了一個(gè)緊密聯(lián)系的圈子。他們一起分享技巧和經(jīng)驗(yàn),,幫助彼此取得成功,。“我們經(jīng)常打電話給另一個(gè)城市的人,,問他們用什么樣的袋子,,或者最喜歡什么樣的自行車掛鉤這種屬實(shí)很小眾的問題?!?/p>
劉易斯和她的團(tuán)隊(duì)由三名兼職員工,、四名自行車手和五名董事會(huì)成員組成,她們每周都組織垃圾采集,,然后運(yùn)往Free Cycles Missoula的露天場(chǎng)地,,她在那里租了1000平方英尺(約92.90平方米)。在這里,,腐爛的物質(zhì)要先后經(jīng)過熱堆肥箱,、堆肥容器、育有紅色蠕蟲的箱子進(jìn)行處理,,然后送往蒙大拿第一個(gè)黑水虻農(nóng)場(chǎng)處理乳制品和肉類等更難分解的物質(zhì),。經(jīng)過了這種神奇的轉(zhuǎn)變后,廚余垃圾就變成了一系列產(chǎn)品,,包括蚯蚓糞,、堆肥茶和生物炭(堆肥接種木炭)。這里還可以作為教育中心供市民和學(xué)校實(shí)地參觀,,親身了解食物殘?jiān)臐撛谀ЯΑ?/p>
米蘇拉城市示范項(xiàng)目(Missoula Urban Demonstration Project)的執(zhí)行主任凱西·瓦倫西亞說(shuō):“因?yàn)镾oil Cycle和其他堆肥收集服務(wù)的存在,,更多人意識(shí)到能夠選擇堆肥,而不僅僅是扔掉食物,?!泵滋K拉城市示范項(xiàng)目的主要職能是為人們提供可持續(xù)生活工具,提升公眾意識(shí),,該組織與Soil Cycle合作舉辦了一些工作坊,,最近,他們幫助Soil Cycle共同建立了一個(gè)雨水集蓄系統(tǒng),。這樣的合作關(guān)系有助于提高人們對(duì)堆肥過程和改變垃圾用途的認(rèn)識(shí),。在大部分市民看來(lái),,堆肥太復(fù)雜了。因此,,瓦倫西亞指出,,幫助人們打破堆肥堆很難建造維護(hù)的先入之見是最大的難點(diǎn)之一。但有了這些項(xiàng)目,,人們不需要做臟活,,只需要做好垃圾分類就可以了。
2017年,,Soil Cycle的成員丹尼爾·摩根從坦帕灣搬到米蘇拉后開始堆肥,。由于當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)場(chǎng)資源豐富,他決定過一種減少包裝的生活,,這讓他能夠親眼看到自己都積攢了哪些垃圾,。“對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō),,親眼看到自己制造了多少食物垃圾的那一刻,,讓我大徹大悟?!蹦Ω貞浀?,那時(shí)他開始把食物與塑料和紙板垃圾進(jìn)行分類?!笆澄餁?jiān)剂烁黝惱娜种?,它們可以用?lái)施肥,滋養(yǎng)花園,。不需要送進(jìn)垃圾填埋場(chǎng),。”
摩根在家里就能夠見證垃圾轉(zhuǎn)化為堆肥的奇跡,。成為會(huì)員的一個(gè)好處是每年都可以領(lǐng)取營(yíng)養(yǎng)堆肥禮品袋,。“拿到這個(gè)禮包就像過圣誕節(jié)一樣,?!蹦Ωf(shuō),他回想起了在門口看到一袋垃圾時(shí)的喜悅,?!氨M管今年是史上最干旱的一年,我們卻迎來(lái)了最大的豐收,。如果不下雨,,我就能夠給植物澆水,但沒有什么可以比堆肥更能夠滋養(yǎng)土壤了,?!?/p>
隨著Soil Cycle的發(fā)展,它們?cè)谡麄€(gè)密蘇拉甚至遠(yuǎn)至圣巴巴拉都建起了合作關(guān)系,。比如,,幫助特納農(nóng)場(chǎng)(Turner Farms)重新獲得南瓜的大豐收,幫助Sun & Swell Foods把包裝材料進(jìn)行堆肥,。然而,,挑戰(zhàn)仍然存在:如何獲得更多的堆肥空間、資金以及改變?nèi)藗兊膽B(tài)度和習(xí)慣,。后者往往可以通過教育來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn),。“了解填埋場(chǎng)的食物垃圾分解會(huì)帶來(lái)什么后果,,讓人非常震驚,。”劉易斯說(shuō),,“我認(rèn)為,,這種轉(zhuǎn)變是一種真正的心態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)變,讓人們以更負(fù)責(zé)任的方式處理食物,?!?/p>
對(duì)于沒有大規(guī)模設(shè)置綠色垃圾收集桶的地方來(lái)說(shuō),公共部分正在以一種更豐富的方式進(jìn)行食物垃圾的回收循環(huán)利用,。對(duì)家庭或社區(qū)而言,,垃圾處理不必成為繁瑣的負(fù)擔(dān),而是能夠(而且就是)像騎自行車一樣簡(jiǎn)單,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:Agatha
With a current population of 75,000 people, Missoula, Mont. is alive with music, boutique hotels, restaurants, and breweries supplying hordes of outdoorsy types to bask in its small town charm. Known as the "Garden City,” its fertile farmland has nourished its surrounding areas for centuries. Today, its markets showcase the bounty derived from biodiverse soils, home gardens, and rich agriculture.
Like most towns, this abundance eventually results in food waste and the imminent question of where to put it: landfill or compost. It's a widespread predicament of how and why to separate organic materials from other sources of trash. In the United States, the average household throws away about 32% of the food it buys, a figure valued at $240 billion of waste. This includes stems, peels, cores, rotten produce, unused products deemed expired, and uneaten leftovers. On the surface, throwing out food is a normalized, everyday habit. But when last night’s dinner lands in the garbage, its journey thereafter becomes an environmental problem.
At a landfill, the food piles up, rots, and releases toxic methane gas. This is called entombment, a biological process that led to 15.1% of total methane emissions in 2019. According to the World Wildlife Organization, methane from food loss and waste generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars' worth of greenhouse gas emissions.
For a city like Missoula, which is tucked between five different mountain ranges, this source of pollution is particularly detrimental because the area already suffers from poor air quality caused by inversions and wildfires. While the best solution is avoiding food waste altogether, doing something beneficial with inevitable scraps is also a valuable approach. Across the country, some municipalities require green collection as part of its waste management. This makes the whole chore a swift proposition: throw kitchen scraps into a green bin with yard clippings and let the city do the rest. However, in Missoula and many other places, there is no such service, only a public composting facility or drop-off sites where residents bring their compostable materials.
Enter Soil Cycle, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that pedals around on bikes gathering food-filled buckets from households, restaurants, and even hostels for composting. Four years ago, executive director Caitlyn Lewis discovered the need for accessible green collection, which drove (ahem, biked) her to forge a new pathway for Missoula's food waste.
"It was low-hanging fruit for something that needed to be done," says Lewis. Prior to Soil Cycle, Lewis was a bicycle ambassador advocating bicycle safety and sustainable transportation. "I meshed both together and started a bicycle-powered food scrap collection service."
Two-wheeling rather than driving prevented 1,800 pounds of carbon emissions. And in 2021, Soil Cycle rerouted 96,000 pounds of waste from local landfills to create beautifully nurtured compost used in gardens and farms. Yes, composting can seem like a dirty, stinky mess for household or apartment dwellers, but where there's a wheel, there's a way.
Soil Cycle members receive a five-gallon bucket and a "bucket list" of materials they can and can't put into the bin: essentially, all organic materials except for meat and dairy, which breakdown slowly and attract rodents at the compost site. Similar grassroots programs, like Missoula Compost and others around the country, provide comparable solutions for homes and local businesses, and Lewis said these efforts have formed a well-bonded community. Together they share tips and experiences to help each other succeed. “It's not uncommon to just call someone in a different city and ask what type of bags they use or something really unique, like their favorite bicycle hitch.”
Lewis and her team of three part-time employees, four cyclists, and five board members organize weekly pickups and bring it to the back lot of Free Cycles Missoula, where she leases 1,000 square feet. Here, the decaying matter evolves in hot composting bins, an in-vessel machine, a wormery of red wiggler worms, and soon Montana's first black soldier fly farm to handle the harder-to-process items, like said dairy and meat. The miraculous transformation then becomes an array of products ranging from worm castings and compost tea to biochar (compost-inoculated charcoal). The space doubles as an educational center for residents and school field trips to teach the potential magic of food scraps firsthand.
"The accessibility of Soil Cycle and other compost collection services in town has made more people aware of composting options rather than just throwing away food," says Casey Valencia, executive director of the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD), an organization that provides tools and education for sustainable living. MUD collaborates with Soil Cycle on workshops, and recently, they helped build a rainwater catchment system together at the Soil Cycle site. Partnerships like this help raise awareness about the process and the need to divert waste. For many citizens, the idea of composting is just too complicated. So one of the biggest challenges Valencia notes is educating people to overcome the preconceived notion that a compost pile will be hard to build and maintain. But with collection programs, people don’t need to do the dirty work—just the separation.
In 2017, Soil Cycle member Daniel Morgan began composting after moving from Tampa Bay to Missoula. With local farms aplenty, he decided to live a package-reduced life, which allowed him to witness the type of waste he amassed. "The a-ha moment for me was when we actually saw how much trash we accumulated just from food scraps," Morgan says, reflecting on when he started separating food from plastics and cardboard waste. “A third of our garbage was essentially food scraps, and that stuff can be used to enrich soils and to make our garden better. It doesn't have to go to a landfill."
For Morgan, he has seen his scraps-turned-compost work wonders at home. One perk as a member is the annual gift bag of nutritious compost. "It's like Christmas when it arrives," Morgan says, describing the delight of a bag of dirt being left on his doorstep. "We've had the biggest harvest this season even though it was the driest year on record. I can always hose down plants and provide water if it doesn't rain, but there's nothing better you can do than using compost and making your soil rich."
As Soil Cycle grows, partnerships throughout Missoula and even as far as Santa Barbara, also grow. From re-harvesting pumpkins at Turner Farms to helping Sun & Swell Foods compost its packaging. Yet, some challenges remain: space for more composting, funding, and changing people’s attitudes and habits. The latter is often resolved through education. "It really shocks people when they understand what happens to food when it breaks down in the landfill,” Lewis says. “I think that has been a real mindset change for people to divert their food in a responsible way."
For communities that don’t have citywide green bin collection, public entities are doing the good work by cycling food through a more enriching process. Managing waste doesn’t need to be a cumbersome endeavor for households or communities. Rather, it can be (and is) as easy as riding a bike.