The Seven Rs
Rethinking, Reducing, Refusing, Reusing, Repairing, Rotting & Recycling
If everyone in the United States composted, it would be equivalent to removing 7.8 million cars from the road. Soil with compost added to it can hold 2.5 times more water than traditional soil, reducing the amount of water that needs to be applied. See Ind. U. Environmental Resilience Institute, Composting at home: How to reduce your waste and make your own fertilizer, Statistics.
There are enumerable benefits, including your home smelling nicer. It doesn't matter if you are doing the actual composting, just keeping it out of your regular garbage can, makes a huge, positive environmental impact.
The seven Rs start to really sink in as you begin the household composting journey. The process gives you a very vivid image of what what your household is consuming. Trash is no longer garbage; it is brown (carbon-rich) matter and green (nitrogen-rich) matter. For products marketed as "compostable", we need to be asking ourselves if it is biodegradable versus compostable? And as far as recyclables, we now know that most of our so-called recyclables are, in fact, not getting recycled. And those non-recyclable items become evident as you look to add matter your compost.
It is undeniable that our planet lives, breathes and moves. It is the supreme entity of our environment. How have we been treating our planet? Humans' relationship with Earth has been, for the most part, arrogant and insensitive. Is our planet retaliating or trying to protect itself?
We can only control what we ourselves do. How can we be better earth citizens?
When we examine life on earth, humans are the species that is equipped with the small-motor dexterity and resources to have been put here as caretakers. There can be no other assumption. How are we handling this responsibility? Can what we consume be regenerative to the planet? Once we are finished with a product, does the leftover package/item have another life or purpose that is positively meaningful to our environment? Can it be upcycled? Humans seem to be the only earth species that don't give anything back to the planet. The majority of us only take and rarely give.
There are many provocative questions that we need to be asking ourselves. I can only say that for me, it was time for big changes. Those changes have turned into new lifestyles that seem to be ever-evolving. But what I noticed the most, was when I made a change for the greater good, it also had a positive and worthwhile affect on my own health.
That is the reason for this website, and for taking the time to build it. It is a work-in-progress and will be updated often. I want to not only evangelize regeneration transformation because I have seen the miracles myself, but provide information regarding alternate options for our "trash".
Stay tuned and thanks for reading :)
Emma & Sadie
Emma is a lifetime amateur gardener and scientist. She lives in the midwestern USA with her dog and best friend, Sadie. Together they enjoy nature and are grateful for life.