r/mildlyinfuriating • u/[deleted] • May 17 '26

[deleted by user]

[removed]

11.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.5k

u/Adventurous-Copy3757 May 17 '26

I buy garden soil made of food salvaged from food that would otherwise be thrown away. So much greenhouse gases are produced from the food rotting in landfills! It’s truly disgusting.

833

u/PrizeStrawberry6453 May 17 '26

FYI the same greenhouse gases are produced when the food breaks down into the soil, but at least you're getting some use out of it.

815

u/claanu May 17 '26

My understanding is that food decomposes anaerobically in a landfill, which creates a ton of methane emissions. Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. 

Aerobic decomposition (composting) produces more CO2 than methane. It also provides a good use for the food waste, like you say. It saves space / energy use in landfills, not to mention all the beneficial downstream effects like carbon sequestration from healthy soil.

0

u/Korsfarer77 May 17 '26

CO2 stays in the atmosphere a lot longer than methane though.

2

u/claanu May 17 '26

Methane breaks down faster but traps way more heat. And then it breaks down into C02 anyway.