To Compost or Not To Compost, That is...

Part of The Never-Ending Debate on Individual Actions!

In today’s post:

• Why our individual actions matter more than we think and how to think about them to make them matter more

• Individual action challenge - compost!

• Updates coming up

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Do they really matter?

Similar to the conversation on gas stoves, there seems to always be an ongoing debate about whether or not our individual actions matter. Some even argue they are harmful to the movement since people do them and think that their small efforts are enough.

I understand that argument because a few individuals’ small actions will in comparison to companies and industries at large be nothing but a drop in a bucket. Maybe even a drop in a swimming pool, or hey — an ocean!

So the truth is that these actions will probably matter more to you than they do to the world at large.

However, it is this very you part that we can’t overlook.

Yes, I agree that if we do some climate-friendly things at home and think that’s going to solve all our problems, we’re missing the bigger picture. A bigger picture where society as we know it has been built and shaped for thousands of years and where true change won’t come about until we start to reimagine everything.

But we can’t overlook the part taking action plays in that reimagination. Because doing things differently, acting on new knowledge, and implementing change in your life, is what will spark that very curiosity to reimagine in the first place.

Taking action means activating change. And once you’ve activated change in your own life, bigger and more change gets room to unfold. It’s like finally giving in to opening the candy bag, trying to have just one. We all know too well that this “one” easily leads to having one more, and then just one more, and then just one more…

Think of change as a bag of candy. You can never have just one.

That is what I want your individual actions to spark for you. A curiosity to think bigger, dive deeper and explore more. If starting a composting habit in your home turns out to not only not being hard or annoying, but actually quite convenient and fun, you will most likely start to question what other areas of your life you could give a little climate hero update.

Not only that, but your new habit will undoubtedly make you feel pretty good about yourself (because we’re humans and we like to feel good about ourselves), which will most likely lead you to want to talk about it with neighbors and friends. And that’s where the impact ripple effects and grows.

But it doesn’t stop there, because now when you’re someone who composts and who recognizes the great possibilities of living life just a little bit differently, you understand what tremendous impact this could have if it was practiced by everyone. You also understand that it is hard, if not impossible, to influence everyone to do the “right” thing, which is when you turn your focus to the forces of collective action:

A) the market force and B) governmental power and law enforcement.

In other words, if we are to make composting the new status quo, we have to make it easy, free (or at least cheap), and accessible for everyone. So, as someone who has recognized the awesome power composting has, you will now be all about helping the new proposed bill that would enable simple compost pick-ups for everyone in town.

And now we’re talking actual change.

It’s not just about you and your tiny actions at home. Do them, but don’t do them believing they will change the world (they probably won’t). Do them to make you feel better, to help you feel more empowered, and use that energy to implement change in the bigger world around you.

As I mentioned in my TEDx talk:

"I can’t change the world, but I can change my world. And when I begin to change my world, the worlds of the people around me will begin to shift as well, with ripple effects I can’t even imagine.”

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Why Your Individual Actions Matter

I go a lot deeper into this in my book but here are four reasons why your individual actions matter. Don’t ever forget them!

1) They make you feel better — rebel sanity for the win!

2) They build character and change how you will show up in the world, as well as make you trust and believe in change.

3) They help you shift norms and culture — enabling these changes to ripple effect in the world around you.

4) They plant seeds everywhere you go, and you never know when or how your simple action will inspire someone else. Or the ripple effects it’ll lead to.

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Let’s Compost!

Now that I’ve honed in on my point about how amazing and important our individual actions are, let me share my favorite — composting. I don’t know why this one speaks to me so much but I think it’s because it doesn't just allow me to minimize my negative footprint, but actually increase my positive one.

When I allow my food scraps to become fertilizer that can return to and enrich the soil, I am inserting myself back into the cycle of life. It makes me feel like I’m actually not a virus here on Earth, but a beautiful part of the ecosystem that — in a circular manner — continues to create life!

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Why compost?

Here are some stats for you:

• Appr. 40% of foods in the US are wasted.

• Roughly a third of the world's food is wasted. That's about 1.3 billion tons a year.

• Appr. 45% of food waste comes from our homes, giving us a lot of power to make a difference.

• Food in landfills creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is anywhere between 30 to 80 times more potent than CO2 (scientists still have a hard time agreeing on just how much, but it’s significant!)

• Food that becomes compost = fertilizer = healthy, more climate-resilient soils = healthier foods = a more stable climate!

• Healthier soils sequester great amounts of carbon and serve as a powerful and important ally in our work for a climate-just future and world. And YOU can help be a part of that, by simply composting your foods.

  

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How to Compost?

Depending on where you live and what your situation looks like, there are different options for composting. If you want to do it all yourself (especially if you have a garden that could use that golden soil) you might want to opt for some at-home composting options. Today, there are many! If you have a backyard you can have a passive pile or opt for something more active. (I highly recommend spending a little time on Youtube to find an option that works for you!)

If you want to compost at home but live in an apartment, there is everything from worm bins to fancy composting machines. You can also become what I call a “freezer free-rider”, where you simply collect your food scraps somewhere (if you save them in the freezer, they won’t smell) and then hand them off to someone else to take care of. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city with a composting program — good for you! If not, maybe there’s a local farmers market drop-off or a local farmer that would happily take your scraps. A quick research online should tell you your options!

There are MANY reasons why composting should be part of your daily life but I’ll leave with sharing my husband’s favorite — the trash won’t smell!

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Going Paid

Dear Climate Optimist community. I am SO honored to have you here with me every week. Many of you have been here since I began writing this newsletter in the summer of 2021, and it warms my heart to see you’re still here.

But now I’ve reached a point (especially with the baby being here) where introducing a paid subscription makes sense. So starting in February you will have to be a paid subscriber to access all of the writings that I’m putting out. There will still be a free subscription option for once-a-month content, but I dearly hope that you’ll decide to want more!

If anything, your small contribution really helps me continue this work through early motherhood. I also have plans for even more in-depth and community-oriented activities coming up, including some members-only deals, so don’t miss out!

The last issue of January next week will still be free, but you can choose to become a paid subscriber now to make sure you make it into February with access to all content. Thank you for being here, and thank you for choosing to continue this wild and exciting ride with me!

With love and optimism,

— AT