Composting waste:
I came up with a solution for composting waste to reduce the waste produced from homes. Composting means using vegetable and fruit peels, spoil vegetables and eggshells to make manure with it. Manure is used to fertile the soil in which we grow plants and trees. Manure gives strength to the plants and trees to grow faster and stronger. I know that only 25%of the waste that is produced from homes can be composted but I think we should start with a small step to solve a problem. I think that this is the easiest step which every house can apply to reduce waste. Through composting, the amount of garbage that will be sent to landfills gets reduced and the organic matter is reused rather than dumping. Also, the waste gets recycled into manure so this is how composting helps us reducing waste.
Few steps to follow to make manure at home:
1. Collect all the waste that is produced in our kitchen like spoiled vegetables and fruits, peels, eggshells etc. Nicer if you are using dry materials like leaves (eg: Mint and coriander leaves )
2. After collecting it take a waste big bottle or a container.
3. Put water in it according to how much waste you have collected. Make sure both water and waste are balanced.
4. Close it with a top of the bottle or with something to make sure that gas is not going inside, Keep it for 3 days. Keep opening its top each day so that gas is not forming inside. Make sure that you are keeping it in the sun because the process will happen faster due to high temperature.
5. After 3 days all the nutrients from the waste mixes in water than separate that peels and waste from water and keep it in a bottle.
6. Make sure that you are not applying it directly on plants. Mix some water on it and apply. Our compost will be ready once it will turn into brown colour.
Advantages of composting waste:
1. We can use it to grow more trees and plants, which is very important for our environment. When we make compost and put it in soil once every week, our soil will get rich in nutrients and help plants to grow faster.
2. We don’t need to buy any fertilizer when we are only making it at our homes. The manure we make at home doesn't have any chemical and our grown fruits and vegetables will be organic and will be very good for our health. And Also saves money from going to the hospital often.
3. It reduces waste because every day we throw lots of waste but once we started making manure of it there will be less waste produced from homes and than the government people who manage waste, it will be easy for them to manage it properly instead of burning and throwing into water bodies.
4. Your money will be saved instead of buying vegetables and fertilizers you will get it at home if you do some hard work and take good care of plants.
5. Liquid fertilizer passes very easily and fast in soil, roots and moves in all plants and can help plants grow faster. It also improves water retention.
6. Doesn't need many materials. (Less cost)Because all materials we need to make are theirs at homes.
7. Compared to making vermicompost in soil, Making liquid fertilizer needs less space and also doesn't need to do it in the garden. We can make it indoors too.
Some of the cons of making this fertilizer, because of which people will not like to make it. But it has it’s solutions too:
Many people don’t try making fertilizer at home because it smells a lot. Our fertilizer should smell like dirt and if not smell it means that it is not forming properly and the waste is not breaking down properly in water. If we want to reduce the smell there are ways to do it. It's very important to balance the manure properly. There shouldn't be too much waste in less water or less water into much waste when our manure is balanced lots smell will not be produced from it. Our manure should also get some air If it’s getting less air than it will smell like a rotten egg. Many times our manure also smells because of the formation of bacteria in it and it's very hard to stop its formation but we also have a solution to it. Adding lime to manure stop reducing its bacteria and its smell. This also gives calcium ions to the manure.
Many people also don’t make it because they think it requires lots of effort but I think it is the easiest of any other things like recycling and all. But if it requires an effort also so what? Everything requires an effort to get a good result. We can't get anything if we didn't put any effort into it. Also, remember that a small effort towards trying this solution can protect our whole world from danger. So don't stop to do this, One small step filled with lots of effort can bring a big change.
Long-lasting:
It can be long-lasting if we continue making it and sharing it with different people. Once you have perfect manure and it's working effectively on plants than we can also start selling it in different nurseries and to farmers. This solution can long last till 2 to 3 years if we work on it very hard It is also very easy to adapt because it doesn't need any materials to buy we just have to collect the waste from our kitchen and its procedure is very easy and help full as I mention it in advantages.
Hence I conclude that change comes from us and we don’t have to wait for others to start it. One step towards reducing waste that we produce in our homes can protect our earth and can keep its resources fresh. So please try out this step it is very easy if you follow each step properly.
Huda Sultana, TeachforIndia student
Grade 9, Madina Mission High School
Jhanauma, Hyderabad
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