| I am often asked why I bother composting anyway. What good is it doing for the planet? It’s a fair question, although I am surprised that more people don’t see the benefits of composting as much as I do. But I thoroughly enjoy the craft of creating ‘brown gold’-a term I use to describe the nutrient-rich compost I produce. It’s not just a hobby, but a source of satisfaction, exercise, and mindfulness that positively impacts my mental health. Gardening is well known alone for being a great form of therapy for depression and stress reduction. Composting, and to a certain degree, worm farming, also offer these therapeutic benefits. For me, composting is not just a task, but a relaxing and stress-relieving activity. It’s no wonder that for many, composting becomes an addictive and enjoyable hobby. Compost, or what gardeners like to call ‘brown gold’ [with ‘vermicast’ being the actual ‘black gold’ in my eyes], is the result of organic waste being broken down and decomposed into a nutrient-rich fertilizer. This process, known as composting, involves creating the right conditions for microorganisms to thrive and break down the waste. The end product is a valuable resource that can be used to enrich our garden soils. The transformation of something that was once considered waste into a nutrient-rich fertilizer is truly a delight. Once more people see composting as more than just throwing away kitchen or green trash, I think they will appreciate all its benefits. There is no denying that creating your compost is hugely beneficial to the growth of plants – be it flowers, vegetables, herbs, or fruits- and not forgetting the valuable nutrients it adds to our soils. Why buy bagged compost when we can create it ourselves? Organic compost helps our planet and the environment. By recycling more, we can avoid adding our waste to massive landfills. Landfills filled with materials such as kitchen waste don’t always break down effectively because they decompose without oxygen and start releasing methane gas, which is highly harmful and, worse yet, flammable! Have you ever heard of those massive fires that break out in landfill sites and wondered how? Well, methane is one surefire culprit! Methane gasses are also responsible for heating the atmosphere and are one factor in climate change. If the gas isn’t enough of a problem, then there are other equally unpleasant reasons for NOT sending waste to the landfill. Like leakage! No ONE likes leakage! There is a lot of moisture in waste foods, and where do you think that goes? It seeps into the ground beneath the landfill, creating an enormous ‘horrible’ puddle! This puddle is deadly and probably potent enough to kill zombies. Yep! It is that bad. It is filled with high levels of liquid toxicity! The biggest problem is that this ‘leachate’ can further poison our waterways and kill us – never mind the zombies! Landfill waste is just adding more pollution to our planet! When there is an environmentally friendly way of dealing with these wastes like composting, we should take advantage of it more and reduce our impact on landfills. By composting, we are not just managing our waste, but also contributing to a healthier planet and a cleaner environment. We can avoid creating more harmful gasses on the planet by composting our wastes at home or finding an allotment or community garden or another home gardener who also composts and might like our scraps if we can’t compost ourselves due to space restrictions. When we compost our wastes in the best way possible, using oxygen allows the aerobic system to break the wastes down and produce very minimal amounts of methane. There are many reasons to compost—if not, as discussed already, for mindfulness, mental therapy, or even a quirky exercise routine [digging], then consider the fact that it’s a great way of producing your ‘own’ personal brand of fertiliser that your plants will love and boost their growth. Start a new addictive hobby, learn about the whole process and observe the bug and microbial life forms you’ll encounter. Learning to compost means you begin the journey to understand and educate others on how their positive action can significantly impact the environment. These alone are great reasons to consider composting. But if you are still hesitant, well, there’s this … composting is incredible fun! |
The Therapeutic Benefits of Composting for Mental Health and Stress Reduction
Earthly Comforts 
Rory, I wish more towns and cities would be involved in composting. When I lived in South Florida, areas for composting were not abundant. Plus, there are huge landfills that you can smell a mile away. It seems large cities would find a better way for waste disposal.
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I certainly wish there were more people involved Eugenia here in the UK and wish that there were more set ups and opportunities for people to compost.
More so now given the exceeding poorer quality of commercial compost now that they are peat free in the UK.
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