A planetary atlas of material flowsOpening this view…
Start with an everyday object or material.
Jump directly to a material, regional account or named facility.
From fields and food production to our plates and beyond. Explore how organic matter moves through consumption, collection, composting, digestion and disposal.
Food draws on biological materials and agricultural systems. Harvested crops are one part of the material flow.
Crop residues and losses occur before consumption.
Preventing avoidable waste retains the value of the food and all its upstream inputs.
Peels, inedible fractions and spoiled food remain.
Separate organics collection keeps suitable biodegradable material out of mixed garbage.
Packaging and other contaminants must be removed.
Composting produces a soil amendment. Anaerobic treatment can produce biogas and digestate; the local treatment must be verified.
Biological processes release gases and require control of moisture and residues.
Useful compost can return organic matter to soil. Organic matter buried in landfill can generate gas and leachate.
The source does not assign Salt Spring scraps to a named composter.
Explore the local operations and regional systems that collect, transform and recover this material.
Checking available records…
No. Hartland captures some gas after waste has been buried. Composting is a separate management route for suitable organic material.