How much thought do you put into your garbage? If you’re like most Americans, you probably don’t think much about what to do with the waste you produce. Maybe you rinse your plastic tubs for recycling or take care to keep leftover grease from going down the drain, but have you considered how composting food waste can totally transform your environmental footprint?

The EPA describes that composting is an environmentally responsible way of disposing of food waste which involves combining scraps in compost piles with three basic ingredients: browns (including dead leaves, branches, and twigs), greens (including grass clippings, vegetable waste, and food scraps) and water.  The compost pile will naturally break down into a valuable source of nutrients full of carbon and nitrogen that can be used as a natural fertilizer.

For a long time, composting meant keeping a bin of your own scraps tucked away behind your shed until you could fold it into your garden’s soil, but as more and more individuals have begun the environmentally friendly practice of composting, it has become easier and easier to bring your scraps to a local composting facility.

As was explored in a recent study from Garden’s Alive, some states far exceed others in terms of access to compost facilities and the usefulness of composting on that state’s land. Top states included Ohio, where an agricultural economy is supported by over 370 composting facilities, and Delaware where a smaller population results in easy access to composting services. Given the unique value that some states can find in creating composting facilities that will in turn support their agricultural economies, it will be interesting to watch how this practice continues to grow.

Still, for now, there is very little to show for in statewide policies that support composting. The study from Garden’s Alive found that only five states across the country, including Massachusetts, California, and Rhode Island, had state mandates for special treatment of organic goods. Furthermore, those states with policies varied in their language and tactics in terms of which waste-producing actors were the focus of the policies and how much organic waste is accepted by state facilities in given time frames.

With state policies to encourage organic waste composting among households and businesses still finding their footing, many non-governmental organizations have risen up to support composting. Groups like the US Composting Council connect individuals with organizations that can collect waste. At colleges and universities, student groups have popped up to help manage compost waste for dorms and dining halls.  Who knows what solutions these groups will imagine encouraging composting among the general public! Will you consider getting in the compost trend?