Sign up for Commercial Composting

A: We've done a backyard bin before, and when we lived in Seattle it was the first (and only time) we've had a city-run "commercial" composting service. Now in Maryland there are multiple reasons we decided to sign up for a composting service vs doing another backyard bin:

1. Ability to Compost More Things – With a backyard bin you really can't put in your fats, meat scraps, and any dairy products. Also, more and more packaging and to-go containers are become certified compostable, and then other day-to-day items like greasy pizza boxes and corks can also be added to the commercial compost while you wouldn't be advised to do it in the backyard bin.
2. Reduction of GHGs – Perhaps surprisingly, if you already have a composting service coming to your neighborhood the net Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of using a commercial service can be beneficial. Commercial composting facilities are equipped with specialized machinery and controlled environments that accelerate the decomposition process, allowing for efficient breakdown of organic waste materials. This rapid decomposition significantly reduces the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is emitted during the decomposition of organic matter in landfills and uncontrolled (e.g., backyard) compost piles (reminder: Methane is approximately 28 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere over a 100-year period, making it a major contributor to global warming).
   
   There is an additional GHG benefit when the compost gets used. If you have a backyard pile, chances are you're using the fresh dirt in an environment that is already has some pretty rich soil. Soil enriched from a commercial facility may be used to enrich more distressed soil, helping it sequester even more CO2. All this is of course helped by the fact that you are composting even more, as discussed in the first point.
3. Ease – The last point is just about laziness. Keeping a backyard compost is work. You need to turn it to keep it happy, make sure you have a good mix of "browns" in there, and of course secure it to keep pests away. Putting out the compost on the curb once a week is super easy.