Cut carbon footprint by raising composting game

The suggestion by Mr Brian Thian in “Singapore’s green environment: Don’t forget quality of the soil, too” (Jan 22) identified an ecological issue that does not get much thought, and offered a solution that is feasible and that does not rely on high-level technology to implement.

This is especially pertinent when carbon sequestration is the only proactive solution to the climate change crisis, as all other mitigation technologies focus on reducing carbon output, not reversing output. Also, current ideas for carbon sequestration that do not use natural systems like wood and soil are technologically out of our grasp and unlikely to save us on time.

On a personal level, our lifestyles could also be carbon negative, if we compost and plant what we can, such as having windowsill plants and herbs. Even if the National Parks Board (NParks) does not adopt the development of biochar as a soil amendment, I urge all to up their composting game.

Anyone concerned about smells or who lives in a Housing and Development Board with limited space could consider partnering with a community garden to carry out composting.

Perhaps NParks could take the lead in connecting families to community gardens for composting, since it already supports the community gardens found in housing estates under the Community in Bloom programme.

For myself, after hunting around for land I could dump compost on without getting fined, to no avail, I gave mine to my grandmother, who lived on landed property with a garden. I thought she would hate it, but she appreciated it and it ended up being useful.

This letter first appeared as a comment on TODAYonline.