Statistics

• Americans put more than 250 million tons of waste in landfills in 2008, according to the EPA. Twenty-two million tons of that waste were recovered through composting.
  
  

Materials

• Materials in landfills include yard trimmings, food scraps, paper, plastic, wood, rubber, leather, metal and glass. You can compost most organic waste material your household produces, including food scraps, paper products and yard waste.
  
  

Decomposition Process

• Oxygen-loving aerobic bacteria perform most of the work in composting; generally, the more oxygen they have, the more quickly they produce finished compost. Organic materials in plastic-lined landfills decompose as a result of the activity of anaerobic bacteria, which work when there's no oxygen present.
  
  

Effects

• Composting produces a humus-rich material that enriches your garden soil. Anaerobic bacteria in landfills produce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
  
  

Considerations

• Many people shy away from composting since most composting methods require you to maintain it by turning the materials, as well as checking temperature and moisture level. For most people, putting waste into landfills is easy since it just requires that you carry your trash out to the curb.