Compost provides important benefits to your soil:
- Improves soil structure and porosity-- creating a better plant root environment
- Supplies organic matter to the soil
- Enables soil to retain nutrients longer
- Encourages vigorous root growth
- Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soil
- Aids in the proliferation of soil microorganisms
- Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss and leaching
- Buffers soil pH
- Increases moisture infiltration and permiability of high clay soils-- reducing run off and erosion
- Improves the moisture holding capacity of sandy soils--reducing water loss and leaching
Compost use has many important benefits for our regional environment.
Return Organic Materials To The Soil
In nature's lifecycle, plants die, fall to the ground, slowly decompose and are reincorporated into the top layer of soil. By replenishing the topsoil layer, nature provides the perfect environment for the next generation of young plants. By composting and reusing our yard trimmings instead of burying them in a landfill, we minimize the loss of valuable organic materials and return them to the soil as nature intended.
Protect Water Quality
The over use of pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides in both backyard and agricultural applications in some instances could result in contamination of our groundwater, streams, and bays as these synthetic products are easily carried by stormwater runoff. By improving our soils with natural organic amendments, we take a major step toward more sustainable growing practices by reducing our reliance on synthetic horticultural products.
Reduce Our Use Of Water
By adding compost to your landscape bed or lawn, the moisture holding capacity of the soil is improved dramatically. This results in your lawn needing less frequent watering, and saving you money on your water and/or electric bill while conserving our natural ground water supply.
Reduce our Dependency on Landfills
Organic materials make up almost 25% of the current waste stream being landfilled in Delaware. By diverting organic materials from being landfilled, and trurning these materials into compost and soil products, we put off the time when a costly new landfill has to be sited, permitted and constructed in Sussex County. In addition, when organic materials are diverted from landfills and composted, production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas decreases. Landfills are the numner one source of man-made methane emmissions in the United States. According the the EPA, recycling and composting is one of the most effective ways for households, communities, and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions.
