Which practice most directly supports soil health and reduces waste?

Which practice most directly supports soil health and reduces waste?

• A. Burning yard waste for disposal.
• B. Recycling only metal products.
• C. Adding compost made from food scraps to soil.
• D. Relying solely on chemical fertilizers.

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is that returning organic matter to the soil through compost directly nourishes the soil and also helps manage waste. Compost from food scraps adds humus-like organic matter and nutrients to the soil, which feeds the soil life, improves its structure, increases water retention and nutrient cycling, and supports better root growth. This strengthens plant health and resilience over time. At the same time, diverting food scraps from the trash into a compost bin reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, where decomposition is often anaerobic and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In contrast, burning yard waste releases pollutants and destroys valuable nutrients, recycling metals addresses only a portion of waste without benefiting soil, and relying solely on chemical fertilizers can degrade soil biology and structure over the long term without any waste reduction. So, adding compost made from food scraps to soil best supports both healthy soil and waste reduction.

The key idea here is that returning organic matter to the soil through compost directly nourishes the soil and also helps manage waste. Compost from food scraps adds humus-like organic matter and nutrients to the soil, which feeds the soil life, improves its structure, increases water retention and nutrient cycling, and supports better root growth. This strengthens plant health and resilience over time. At the same time, diverting food scraps from the trash into a compost bin reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, where decomposition is often anaerobic and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In contrast, burning yard waste releases pollutants and destroys valuable nutrients, recycling metals addresses only a portion of waste without benefiting soil, and relying solely on chemical fertilizers can degrade soil biology and structure over the long term without any waste reduction. So, adding compost made from food scraps to soil best supports both healthy soil and waste reduction.