The comment that burning garden waste produced the same amount of carbon dioxide as composting/mulching the same material, but just a bit quicker, was made recently to me. My past studies [30 years ago] suggested that while composting/mulching releases some CO2 etc into the atmosphere, a significant amount of carbon is retained and cycled through energy pathways within the micro & macro flora and fauna of the composting materials, i.e. a carbon sink has been created. Are there any recent studies that would confirm this?
Robert Bell
Rotary
Australia
Ecology of Composting versus Burning
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The most exciting, comprehensive and readable book on composting I've seen lately is "Humanure". This book is not only extremely detailed in its science and well-researched referencing all the books in that subject area, it has won awards such as "Book Most Likely to Save the Planet". Plus it is quite humorous and enjoyable to read. The author is extremely experienced and well-read on all matters compost. You might also be able to contact him to get all your questions answered: mail josephjenkins.com. He is based on the east coast of the US. This book is also of interest to anyone who thinks polluting vast quantities of drinking water with excrement while breaking the nutrient cycle seems like a bad idea.
Angela Verbrugge
Permaculture Parenting
Canada