Food scraps sit inside a residential compost bin. — Photos: JOSHUA A. BICKEL/AP
Most of what goes into United States landfills is organic waste, ranging from household food scraps to yard trimmings. That's a problem because in that environment, organic waste is deprived of oxygen, which helps break material down.
The result: the release of a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
