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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING "INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK"
WHEREAS, sustainable communities begin with composting, which serves as an effective method of waste reduction, reuse and recycling, helping divert waste from landfills; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 2.6 million tons of food scraps were composted, compared to 35 million tons that were landfilled; and
WHEREAS, organic materials like yard trimmings, food scraps, pizza boxes and spent coffee grounds can be composted and converted into a beneficial product known as compost; and
WHEREAS, returning organic resources to the soil reduces water consumption across all soil types, decreases reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and diverts waste from landfills; and
WHEREAS, globally and domestically, approximately one-third of all food goes uneaten. In the United States, much of this uneaten food ends up in landfills or sewers, where it decomposes in the absence of oxygen, producing methane; and
WHEREAS, methane is 28 times more effective than carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Over the last two centuries, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have more than doubled, largely due to human-related activities. Methane is responsible for approximately 30% of the increase in the global temperature since the Industrial Revolution; and
WHEREAS, according to the U.S. EPA, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions from human activities in the United States. Food waste makes up 24% of solid waste in landfills, but causes 58% of resulting methane emissions; and
WHEREAS, nationally, greenhouse gas emissions from landfilled food waste are equivalent to the annual emissions of 15 coal-fired power plants, or equal to the energy use of seven million homes; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2023 Illinois EPA report on Landfi...
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