Eco-Friendly Resolutions in 2026: Composting in Alabama

Sponsored

With 2025 coming to an end, are you  thinking about what you can do better in  2026?  Here is a suggestion: Live more eco-friendly in Alabama.

We can already hear the naysayers. Not possible, especially in the Yellowhammer state!

Challenge accepted…yes, we can. 

In this first of a three part series, we will look at how you can live easier on the earth in 2026 by reducing organic waste,  building your own compost pile and supporting your local community garden. 

Reduce your waste 20-50% through composting

Have you ever taken a minute to look at your trash? 

Separate all the packaging and plastic soda bottles, milk jugs and plates. See what’s left? Food scraps, leaves, coffee grounds, eggshells, cardboard and much more.

Surprisingly, between 20-50% of the household garbage we take out to the curb can be turned into compost by creating a compost pile and system.

Like anything else, there are dos and don’t. My favorite compost list comes from a website called Small Footprint Family, which lists over a 100 things you can compost and guidance on what not to throw in the compost pile.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension Service also has videos and fliers describing how you can start a compost pile at home or in your neighborhood.

Here’s a good one to check out.

Why compost? 

John Scott Vowell is the Johnny Appleseed of composting in the Birmingham metro area. 

Operator of a company called Compost Only, Vowell picks up food scraps from businesses, restaurants and coffee shops and transports that waste to small farms, community gardens or private spaces to be composted. 

He also supports and educates communities, local groups and individuals on how to compost their waste and manage it. His clients include some of the Magic City’s most beloved restaurants and local farms, including Bottega, Rojo, LeFete and Lovelight Farm in Wilsonville.

How does composting make a difference on a farm or a community garden?

“If you are a farmer, gardener, homesteader or someone who is growing things that they eat, then you want a soil amendment, a fertilizer that will build the soil back up and go back into the earth in a meaningful way, in a productive way.” 

John Scott Vowell

As a trained nutritionist, Vowell has also seen firsthand how composting our food waste is superior to store-bought, petro-based fertilizer.

“Compost is valuable for the nutrient content, instead of something that is a petrochemical derivative that can kind of trick a plant into growing without actually putting any nourishment into the plant.”

John Vowell

Composting promotes clean air + water and less landfills

In addition to healthy soils and food, composting is important for clean air and water.  

Think about it. 

Almost all waste that gets thrown away from grocery stores, restaurants and our homes goes straight into the landfill. The waste literally gets layered between sheets of plastic and turns anaerobic.  

Instead of beneficial microbes and earthworms eating that food waste, bacteria take advantage of the high nutrient situation. The result? Dangerous levels of methane, a greenhouse gas is produced, and leachate runoff makes its way from the landfill into our streams and rivers. 

Composting mitigates all three environmental problems: reducing methane, leachate and landfills.

Community gardens: Compost leaders

A true “grassroots movement,” composting in Alabama is not only led by the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, but also local botanical and community gardens throughout the state, such as the Jones Valley Teaching Farm.

“We have teaching workshops year ‘round on how to reduce your home waste. We also teach a workshop called ‘Growing in Small Spaces’ for people who may live in apartments or condo buildings, who don’t necessarily have a yard. 

At Jones Valley, we take all of our food waste and farm waste, compost it there on the farm, and then use that compost for multiple things. We use it in the fields to grow more fruits and vegetables. We mulch trees with it. We just recently started using it as bedding for our Vermi compost system.”

Matt Nesbett, Farm Director at the Jones Valley Teaching Farm

Who else teaches composting in Alabama? Here is a list:

• Birmingham Botanical Gardens
• Huntsville Botanical Gardens
• Jones Valley Teaching Farm
• EAT South (Montgomery)
• Alabama Cooperative Extension Service
• University of Alabama Arboretum
• Auburn University

Are you motivated to try composting? We hope so and will be saving our holiday scraps right away.

Next up: Energy efficiency

Second on our list of 2026 eco-friendly resolutions: becoming more energy efficient.

This particular list, like most eco-friendly initiatives, will not only save resources and the environment, but can also save you  money.

Sponsored by: