Gardener shares photo of concerning discovery in store-bought compost: 'Should be illegal'

Tiny pieces of plastic in store-bought compost are a big problem for gardeners. 

A frustrated Redditor shared a concerning photo of plastic gathered from their store-bought compost. 

"The Amount of Plastic in Compost Sucks," they wrote above the picture. "This is just a little of what I picked out. I make my own compost to avoid this but I can't produce as much as I need."

Compost is made from decomposing materials like leaves, food scraps, and other organic matter. The result is a nutrient-rich fertilizer to add to your soil.

While you can make compost at home, as the Redditor mentioned, you may sometimes have to rely on store-bought compost. Store-bought compost is sourced from places such as garden centers and farms. But it's not perfect — a lot of this compost can contain harmful inorganic material, like plastics. 

Once in the soil, these plastics then make their way into our waterways, where they wreak havoc on human health and the planet's health. So, it's understandably frustrating to find it in store-bought compost, and it's easy to see why the original poster makes as much of their own compost as possible.

Making compost is a great way to reduce food waste and yard waste at home, and it'll save you money on fertilizer, too. Yard waste like lawn clippings, weeds, and leaves can be dried and added to your compost pile; food waste like egg shells, coffee grounds, and citrus peels can be added to the pile or directly to your soil.

Compost is good for your garden, and gardening is good for you. Gardening has been shown to relieve stress, increase feelings of optimism, and improve your physical health. Plus, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor — literally — by enjoying delicious homegrown food.

Many gardeners shared similar experiences with store-bought compost.

"My partner and I garden at an organic community garden and they get compost delivered from the local municipal system and it is chock full of plastics," a user commented. "Unfortunately, in our case, a ton of the plastic appears to be gardening waste like zip ties, plant ID tags, and weed fabric. It's frustrating that people aren't more careful/thoughtful."

"I got some 'organic' compost from Home Depot and it's full of plastic and glass. Should be illegal," another Redditor said.

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