Compost is organic matter, such as food waste that has decomposed. It is dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling, and has many beneficial uses. It makes a great supplement for your garden and plants. In February 2008 in Dixon, California, NorCal Waste Management Systems did an IASP food waste composting study.

Composting creates a resource for your garden, can save you money by reducing your disposal costs. Compost-able food comes from many sources. Food such as spoiled fruits and vegetables, stale bakery items, kitchen prep trimmings, and leftover plate scrapings, can be composted into a beneficial soil amendment, thus greatly reducing the amount of material going into landfills. Restaurants, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, prisons, and other facilities can benefit from composting food scraps either onsite or at a compost facility. Not only is food composting a better use of organic resources than land-filling, it can also decrease refuse collection costs over the long term.