From waste to garden gold: Composting reduces trash and saves money
In the minds of many, 'sustainable' means 'environmental.' And to many minds, all that is 'environmental' is, by definition, impractical hippie nonsense. They don't want to hear about it. They'd rather just stick to Business as Usual thank you very much.
But Business as Usual is causing problems, and it's not sustainable by any definition of the word.
This is especially true in our rapidly growing region. We all know that more people bring more traffic, but there's another issue that is also rapidly growing: trash.
Most of us seldomly think about our trash, probably because, unlike traffic, we don't sit in it multiple times a day. If we stick to Business as Usual, however, we could be wallowing in trash sooner than most of us realize.
Middle Tennessee, and Nashville, within it, has a serious trash problem. Davidson and twenty neighboring counties rely almost solely on one facility for trash disposal, and this facility is filling up fast. Building another landfill, aka Business as Usual, will take a decade or longer, and in whose backyard will it be located?
The only sure answer is that if it's going to landfill, that landfill will be much farther away. There are logistical and environmental consequences to longer hauling, but the one that will hit us all most glaringly is that it will cost more. For business owners, landlords, residents, homeowners, and students alike, Business as Usual is going to cost more. A lot more…
…unless there is something we could do locally.
…and we could somehow turn waste into something useful.
Thankfully, we needn't wait for radical, world-changing breakthroughs to be invented to solve our trash crisis. Composting is an effective weapon against these coming problems, and of environmental benefit to boot.
We landfill enormous quantities of food, paper, cardboard and yard waste, all of which could be composted and turned into soil that improves our gardens, farms, and landscaping. With minimal changes in habit in our homes, restaurants, offices, grocery stores, schools, and hotels, we can divert nearly 30% of landfill-bound trash starting today. That's potentially millions of pounds of material that becomes a resource instead of rubbish.
Critics of change will say it requires millions in new investment to make this possible. They'll say it's yucky and difficult and hippie-dippy nonsense but, well, they're just plain wrong. Local resources are already in place, and they've demonstrated effectiveness in school pilots and some homes, as well as in restaurants and grocery stores you already patronize.
The work has already begun, but more participation is needed. That's where you come in.
More: Rutherford, Murfreesboro seek landfill 'to restrict the flow of that trash' from Nashville
Nashville residents can drop food scraps for free at Metro Convenience Centers. Services like The Compost Company exist to help businesses dispose of waste in a way that is clean and economical. Compostables can be picked up from your home by a local services such as Compost Nashville and Regener8. Or you can try home composting. It's rewarding, environmentally-friendly, and free.
Composting is impactful at any scale and is an action in which anyone can participate.
Landfilling trash is not, and never was, a good solution. It's just a cheap one. But 'round here it's getting more expensive by the day, and costs will skyrocket when we have to find new, far-flung locations to keep burying our waste. Composting, alternatively, is a process that can be repeated to cascading financial and social benefit, again and again in the same facilities. Waste comes in, and garden gold comes out.
That's Business as Usual, evolved.
And composting is also just one example of flipping the script on waste. Plastic, metal, and other commonly disposed-of materials are needed by area manufacturers, yet we throw them away constantly.
I'd encourage you to check out the Waste to Jobs Act that is picking up steam in our State Legislature, and should come to the floor in 2026. It is an excellent example of creative problem-solving. Like composting, this act will reduce waste, create jobs, save resources and money, and improve our environment.
Small improvements resulting in big impact. Now that, my friends, is what sustainability can mean.
Clay Ezell is a certified Master Composter and Co-Owner/CEO of The Compost Company. He has recently served as a founding member and President of the Tennessee Composting Council and is a member of the US Composting Council, the Tennessee Environmental Council, and the Cumberland River Compact.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee has a trash problem. Composting can help | Opinion
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