Composting to Keep Food Waste Out of Landfills

What impact do our landfills have on the environment and climate change?

When you throw something away, it often ends up in a landfill. In this episode, Ami explores the complex systems within landfills that break down materials over time. She learns how organic waste can produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and how separating materials like food scraps can make a difference. Through conversations with scientists and learning about community programs, this episode examines the environmental impact of waste management systems and ways we can rethink what we throw away.

Let's take a look

View Transcript: English Spanish

Questions to consider

Icon for question 1 with an illustration of the Earth behind the number 1

How are the choices we make about what to do with our waste connected to climate change?

Icon for question 2 with an illustration of the Earth behind the number 2

How can we practice more sustainable waste management?

Icon for question 3 with an illustration of the Earth behind the number 3

Why do you think people are concerned about the location and size of landfills?

Meet the Changemakers

A woman with long auburn hair smiles warmly while looking to the side, photographed outdoors against a soft green background.

Erica L-W Majumder

Bacteriologist

I do research, run a laboratory, teach undergraduates, and train scientists in waste management, environmental microbiology, and biogeochemistry.

Erica L-W Majumder

Bacteriologist

We get our produce and fish from CSAs (community sponsored agriculture). We filter our drinking water rather than purchasing bottled water. We reduce, reuse, and recycle wherever possible.

Travel mug with built-in tea filter.

Don’t feel like you have to be ‘perfect’— small changes and actions add up. I also frequently consult my municipalities’ ‘Recycleopedia’ to check how to properly dispose of items here.

A young woman with blonde-red hair, round gold-framed glasses, and a gray knit beanie laughs while looking to the side, wearing a colorful scarf outdoors.

Delaney Gobster

County Program Coordinator

I coordinate our county’s compost programs and work with residents and restaurants on how to reduce their wasted food!

Delaney Gobster

County Program Coordinator

I save the fall leaves to mulch my garden beds and provide habitat for overwintering pollinators.

Microwavable (glass) to-go containers, so I can bring leftovers to work for lunch.

(Food) waste isn’t waste until you waste it!

A young man with short dark hair and a gray hoodie smiles while looking to the side, photographed outdoors with a blurred colorful background.

Sam Olson

Community Composter

I am a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying politics, public policy, and urban development.

Sam Olson

Community Composter

Some of the sustainable habits my family and I have adopted include composting, recycling, and using reusable items whenever we can.

My favorite reusable item has to be my water bottle. I’ve had it for a while now and I use it all the time. The waste reduced from not using plastic water bottles is significant.

Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and nearly 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.

A teenager in a gray hoodie deposits food scraps into a bright orange bin at a

“Making sure that landfills aren’t expanding as much is a huge priority. And composting played a huge role in that. ”

Sam Olson

Bibliography

“Composting At Home.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 8 Dec. 2025, www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home.

“Compost + Wasted Food Resources.” Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, landfill.danecounty.gov/resources/compost. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.

“Dane County Trash Lab.” Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, landfill.danecounty.gov/projects/WastandRenewableProjects/Trash-Lab. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.

Earth-Kind Landscaping. “Chapter 1, the Decomposition Process.” Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 2009, aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/landscape/dont-bag-it/chapter-1-the-decomposition-process.

“Organic Recycling Services.” Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, landfill.danecounty.gov/compost. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.

“Renewable Natural Gas Plant.” Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables, landfill.danecounty.gov/projects/WastandRenewableProjects/Renewable-Natural-Gas-Plant. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.

Spencer, George. “The Landfill Lady, Hungry Microbes, and Leaping the Valley of Death.” GROW Magazine, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, 12 Nov. 2024, grow.cals.wisc.edu/departments/features/the-landfill-lady-hungry-microbes-and-leaping-the-valley-of-death.

“U.S. Emissions.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 9 Feb. 2026, www.c2es.org/content/u-s-emissions/.

Episode Credits

Producer
Kylie Compe

Story
David Boffa
Ian Glodich
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe
Ryan Hendricks

Script
Kylie Compe

Director of Photography
Ian Glodich

Videography
David Boffa
Ian Glodich
Tori Charnetzki
Kylie Compe

Editors
David Boffa
Kylie Compe

Host
Ami Eckard-Lee

Graphics and Design
Charles Barrows

Animations
Ian Glodich

Illustrations
Cam Erhardt

Special Guests
Erica L-W Majumder
Delaney Gobster
Sam Olson

Translation Services
Rev

Captions
Catie Pfeifer

Educator Support Materials
Mia Forslund
Jen Kobylecky

Web Design
Charles Barrows
Erika Kachama-Nkoy

Web Development
John Vieth

Digital Content
Sigrid Peterson

Executive Producer
Ryan Hendricks

Director of Education
Megan Monday

Director of Television
Jon Miskowski

Special Thanks
Dane County Waste + Renewables
Purple Cow Organics

Project Advisors
Kevin Anderson
Science Education Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Leigh Kohlmann
Independent Science Education Consultant
Oakfield, WI

Dolly Ledin
Wisconsin’s Green Fire
Madison, WI

Michael Notaro
Center for Climatic Research
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Victoria Rydberg-Nania
Environmental Education and Service Learning Consultant
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Funding provided by

Dr. Annette Beyer-Mears in memory of Howard & Nelle Weiss, Virginia Graves and Peter Tropman

Friends of PBS Wisconsin

Focus Fund for Education

What impact do our landfills have on the environment and climate change?

Let's take a look

Questions to consider

Meet the Changemakers

Get to know the historians. Each historian in this episode has a card with information about that historian.

There are 3 cards to read.

Erica L-W Majumder

Bacteriologist

Delaney Gobster

County Program Coordinator

Sam Olson

Community Composter

Quote from a historian

Bibliography

Episode Credits

Funding provided by