nourishing the soil
decomposing into nutrients
Breaking down bioplastics and organic waste into compost is great for reducing GHG emissions, but what do you do with it once you have it? Add it to the soil! All of the nutrient-rich organic matter that’s been added to your compost bin is perfect for helping plants grow and keeping the earth beneath your feet healthy.
Conventional, fossil fuel-based plastics leave behind toxins and microplastics when they’re incinerated and disposed of in landfills, or when they slowly break down. By making a change to compostable bioplastics, we can nourish the soil instead of polluting it.
Are soil and compost the same thing?
Not quite! Compost can be mixed into soil to enrich it, but they have different definitions.
Soil is the earthy material where most plants grow. Its texture and composition vary and different plants prefer different types of soil. Loamy soil looks most like the dark brown matter we associate with “dirt.” It has a fairly equal mix of sand, silt, and clay and is great for most plants. Clay soil and sandy soil are the other primary types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Compost is decayed organic material that can be added as nourishment. Finished compost looks like crumbly, dark topsoil that resembles loamy soil at a glance. The great thing about adding compost to soil is that it can benefit every type! If a patch of soil is struggling to grow plants, compost can help regulate pH, add beneficial microorganisms, improve soil structure, and more.
What nutrients are in healthy soil?
The non-mineral elements in healthy soil are the ones you may be most familiar with: hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. In other words, H2O, O2, and CO2. The other mineral elements are divided into macronutrients and micronutrients.
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Primary macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium (also known by the acronym NPK)
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Secondary macronutrients: calcium, manganese, sulfur
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Micronutrients or trace elements: boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc
Primary macronutrients are the ones that often get added for soil health because plants absorb them in large quantities for their own growth. They’re also the nutrients that compost and fertilizer provide!
What nutrients go into composting?
The main elements that go into composting are nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and water. Creating a healthy balance in a compost solution has a direct impact on how quickly and how well organic matter breaks down.
The mix of nitrogen and carbon is determined by what organic matter is added to the compost system. Nitrogen-rich material is called “green matter,” and carbon-rich material is called “brown matter.” Generally speaking, there should be roughly two or three parts brown matter for every one part green matter.
What are the benefits of healthy soil?
First, healthy soil makes healthy plants. For plants to grow, they need stable soil to encourage root growth, provide insulation from fluctuations in temperature, and hold nutrients. A good root system can also prevent undesirable weeds from growing.
When compost is integrated into the soil, it brings benefits other than nutrients with it. Compost acts as a binder to hold the soil together. This improves its water-holding capacity and prevents erosion, especially for lighter, sandier soils. It even combats climate change by capturing and storing carbon instead of just releasing it!
Fertilizer versus composting
When deciding how to add nutrients to soil, fertilizer is one of the first options that comes to mind. It’s fast and relatively affordable and it’s easy to see exactly what nutrients you’re adding and in what quantities. By comparison, making compost takes time and is less precise. However, compost comes with benefits that synthetic fertilizer does not.
Although fertilizer acts quickly, excess water from rain can wash the nutrients away faster than they’re absorbed. Additionally, when fertilizer is washed away, it can end up in ecosystems like rivers where the nutrients and chemicals it carries become detrimental. Because compost is already in a dense, soil-like form, it actually helps the soil hold up to water while also providing nutrients over time. As completely organic matter, it does not deposit toxins in other environments when displaced.
If you aren’t able to make your own compost, that’s okay! Look in your area for garden centers, plant nurseries, and community compost programs.
Are biodegradable products good for the soil?
Something that is biodegradable will break down into natural elements in a natural environment. For example, one product may biodegrade in water while another only breaks down completely in a compost environment. However, depending on what the product is made of, it may not break down into material that’s healthy for the environment. Non-compostable bioplastics can leave behind harmful elements like microplastics and traces of metal.
What bioplastics are made of matters! Biobased bioplastics—those that are primarily made from organic matter—are generally safe for the environment, although they are not necessarily compostable. When looking at a biodegradable product and deciding if it’s a good fit for you and for the environment, make sure you know what it becomes when it degrades.
How do compostable bioplastics nourish the soil?
Compostable bioplastics are not only safe for the soil, but also undeniably enhance it. The products from būmi use agricultural waste biomass (primarily rice husks), which means they:
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Are good sources of carbon-rich brown matter for compost bins.
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Break down in a healthy compost environment within 6 months.
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Leave zero microplastics behind—even the ink is compostable!
When we take home new plants to put in our garden, they’re usually in pots with soil for safe transport. What if we could take advantage of those containers? With būmiGRO, the containers the plants come in can be composted to be put back in the ground only a few months later to help the plants grow in their new home!
Decomposing into nutrients, not microplastics
The pros and cons of bioplastics can be hazy with how similar each variety appears. Even if something is advertised as safe for the environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. Look for labels and certifications that tell you exactly what a product can and can’t do. As for būmi products, you can rest assured knowing they’re certified by several organizations as officially home compostable and safe to add to the soil as nutrient-rich compost.