Composting cuts greenhouse gas emissions, enhances the ability of soil to act as a carbon sink, and builds community resilience to climate disruptions.
Use our new graphic to share these benefits! It is available for your use (with attribution to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance).
Download the infographic here as a: PNG file or PDF file
Creative direction by Brenda Platt and art by Clarissa Libertelli
Data sources: ILSR produced this infographic largely based on data shared during our Compost Climate Connections Webinar Series. The amount of world carbon in the soil is from a 2020 statement from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, available at World Soil Day 2020: Keep soil alive, protect biodiversity. The pie chart of US human-related methane emissions is based on 2020 numbers from the US EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP).
We want you to be able to share this infographic under creative commons license, free of cost. If you’re publishing on your website, or in one of your publications, please include the following sentence:
The following comes from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (www.ilsr.org), a national nonprofit organization working to strengthen local economies, and redirect discarded materials into local recycling, composting, and reuse enterprises. It is reprinted here with permission.
Please, make sure to let people know they should link to: ilsr.org/compost-climate to download the original content for their own publications. They also should include the above attribution language.
View our other compost posters and infographics:
Compost Impacts More Than You Think: ilsr.org/compost-impacts-posters/
Infographics: Compost for a Better Planet: ilsr.org/infographics-compost-better-planet/
Hierarchy to Reduce Food Waste & Grow Community: ilsr.org/food-waste-hierarchy/
Resources/More Information:
ILSR’s Compost Climate Connections Webinar Series
ILSR’s documented Model Policies on Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration
Compost – Combatting Climate Change, The Compost & Climate Connection (publication) US Composting Council
Project Drawdown – Composting Solutions
Unlocking the Potential of Soil Organic Carbon, Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon, March 21-23, 2017 – Outcome Document. Infographic on Soil and Climate Change.
The Soil Story (video)
The Story of Compost (video)
Kiss the Ground
How composting can reduce our impact on the planet, July 21, 2021 article, UN Environment Programme
Organic Materials Management and Climate Change, CalRecycle
Organic Waste Composting Protocol, Climate Action Reserve
Climate-Smart Agriculture: Compost Amendments, Climate-Smart Agriculture Fact Sheet Series, California Climate Hub USDA
