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My name is Jessica Ullman and I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I now study sustainable energy management at Unity College in Unity, Maine. Growing up in a huge city I always saw trash on the streets. My father would frequently pick up the trash that was on our block which taught me a great life lesson which is to protect the Earth. He is not with me today and so I want to honor his memory and bring sustainability methods to my hometown. When I came to Maine I realized how much cleaner it is. When I went to the cafeteria I saw that they have a composting center. I have never seen one before and I thought it was like the most amazing thing in the world. The school also recycles a huge amount. Back home growing up I loved how my family has always recycled. There is so much that needs to be done in the city of Philadelphia about the lack of their recycling and composting laws. Recycling and composting should be enforced and there are numerous ways in how this can be done. Recycling and composting is so important for climate change and so it is necessary for all Philadelphians to be informed and take proper actions.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

All About Composting

My recent posts have focused mainly on recycling, so you are probably really curious about the composting in Philadelphia. There is not much to say. We do not have it an infrastructure like other cities like Portland, Oregon. In fact we do not have any laws about composting. We do not have facilities which would cost money,and the public should be in the know about composting benefits. The Philadelphians who do recycle do it on their own free will. They are the ones who care about the planet, and we should be just like them. The problem is that we do not know where to start. I have always recycled at my house, but with composting it was always something that sounded weird and I did not know much about. When I started attending Unity College (America's Environmental College), I saw the composting center located in the cafeteria. There are signs saying what can go in it (which is basically everything) and what cannot.
Basically the reason why there is not composting in Philly is because it is so expensive to start a program. Once the program is started people actually have to follow it and know what they are doing. The city works with a company for anyone who wants to compost. They are called Philly Compost. It was a company formed in 2009.

The pros of composting are that it keeps waste out of landfills and it is actually easy for anyone to start. You just need a separate composting bin and you let the bacteria do the work. Many things can be composted like vegetables, fruit, egg shells, pasta, tea bags, nut shells, leaves, coffee. Many of these things we deal with on a daily basis. People could say composting is too difficult, but it really is not. If you cannot remember what is composted or not keep a list on your wall, so you remember. Then you just have to contact Philly Compost so that they can pick it up for you. There are workshops if you need help at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. I have volunteered here my senior year and it is a great nature preserve and they love being sustainable. If online sounds more like you there are free classes by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania. Composting is amazing and everyone should do it in Philadelphia.
For a chart to help you get started.
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