Composting Gets Easier for City-Dwellers

Americans waste 40 percent of the country's annual food supply, according to a study published by the Public Library of Science Journal last month.

This figure accounts for waste in the entire food supply – from fields and factories to the moldy leftovers in your fridge. But looking strictly at the food we buy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that we waste about one pound per person per day.

Composting is a natural solution to food waste. Homeowners with backyards need only carve out a little space to dump or bury food scraps. But city dwellers, whose outdoor experiences are limited to public parks and tar-blotched roofs, have traditionally had few options.