Did you know that Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City of Orlando want you to get your loved one something dirty this Valentine’s Day? Not only do they want you to get dirty in your own home, but they also want you to encourage your neighbors to join in! In fact, they want you to get dirty so much that they are willing to pay for it!

“It,” of course, referring to a Green Works Composter.  

Why such a big push to get more homes in Orlando to compost? According to the Backyard Composting Guide found on the Green Works City of Orlando website, the average home here in Orlando produces 474 pounds of waste per year. That comes out to approximately 1.3 pounds of waste per person, per day. All that garbage must go somewhere, and that somewhere is landfills.

It is estimated that 24% of the landfill waste could have been composted or recycled. Instead of being composted, organic waste such as food scraps and leaves are compacted down and covered. This removes the oxygen and causes the waste to break down in an inorganic manner. Eventually, this process releases methane, a gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. But a wonderful way to decrease the amount of waste in our landfills and the lethal gas it can produce is composting.

Once made aware of the problem, Mayor Dyer committed to reducing our environmental impact. He established a goal to make Orlando a zero-waste community by the year 2040. To keep that commitment and make our city more sustainable, he developed the Green Works Initiative. Through this initiative, any City of Orlando resident can receive a free backyard home composter.

Not ready to request your composter and get dirty yet? Perhaps you are still not sure what composting even is. Composting is a natural process of decomposition. Ever walked through a forest? If so, I am sure you have noticed that the leaves from the trees naturally fall off to the ground. Eventually, they start to decompose on their own and make a mulch-like substance that provides the trees and the soil with nutrients. Composting works in a similar way by turning our kitchen and yard waste into the same type of nutrient-rich soil.  

Besides helping the environment, composting can make your yard healthier and look better. The organic matter in the compost soil helps retain nutrients, moisture, and air and even acts as a fertilizer. As if that alone is not enough, research now shows that composting is a natural pesticide. Yes, you read correctly. Soil treated with compost tends to harvest plants with fewer pest problems!

Adding to the list of benefits, composting saves water and MONEY! Compost can act as an organic evaporation barrier, soaking up water then slowly releasing it to your plants and grass when needed. Those homes where composting is done tend to have lower water usage because of this and therefore lower water bills.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get dirty! The process for requesting your composter couldn’t be simpler. Go to the City of Orlando website: cityoforlando.net/composter. Follow the instructions on the site, fill out the remaining info, and the City of Orlando will follow-up with you in two to three business days to let you know when you will receive your composter. Make sure to download the Composting Guide PDF available on the site as it gives some wonderful tips on how to get started as well as troubleshooting solutions for common problems.

So, this Valentine’s Day, show the environment how much you love it by requesting a free composter and see for yourself how much fun getting dirty can be!

Feel free to reach out to Rebecca Fernandez, Neighborhood Relations Coordinator, for more information about neighborhood programs: [email protected]. You can join the conversation on social media as well: https://www.facebook.com/orlandoneighborhoodrelations/.

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Check out the City of Orlando’s blog to learn more: http://www.cityoforlando.net/blog/five-benefits-of-composting-your-food-waste/