Last December, Diana Castellanos asked for one thing for Christmas: a large container from Costco that she could convert into a composting bin. She wanted to combine her passion for sustainability with her family’s practice of waste consciousness. I sat down with my fellow first-year, EcoRep, and friend to ask about her journey with composting and how it has influenced her.
Although we were separated by a screen, I could still feel Diana’s enthusiasm for composting. When asked about her interest and journey with composting, Diana smiled brightly and told me about her familial influences—her two grandmas. Or as her sisters joke, her crunchy granola grandmas, referring to the popular trope of the earth-conscious and laid back “granola girl.” Diana’s grandmas have passed on the value of returning produce back to the Earth; Diana laughs, “they are the most crunchy people I know.”
One grandma focuses on banana peels and eggshells. Diana tells me that she makes a smoothie from her scraps and feeds it back to her plants. Her other grandma practices a pragmatic and all-encompassing approach: a dirt and scrap pile “behind her garage.” This grandma waits for her scraps to decompose, and proceeds to use it as fertilizer for her plants. Both grandmas reflect the fluidity of composting; there is not one single way to practice composting, the type depends on what the individual wants to focus on in reducing waste. Diana saw the creativity of her grandmas and asked herself: “Why can’t I do this at home?”
Clearly, composting is a family thing. Influenced by their maternal figures, Diana and her family are firm believers in waste repurposing and recycling. For example, prior to asking for a composting bin for Christmas, Diana’s family posed the question: “How can we reduce our waste at home?” COVID-19’s influence on their food habits—more vegetables, less dining out—promoted the family to reflect on their waste. Diana tells me that the contemplations led to the decision: “It seemed like the perfect opportunity to start a composting bin at home.”
COVID-19 changed Diana’s perspective on the relationship between composting and reducing waste. Diana refers back to the recurring theme of her family’s involvement to highlight how her views, and now her family’s, were altered by COVID-19. Quarantine has brought her sister from college and kept Diana at home with her little sister and parents. As a result, the composting bin became “a family event.” Diana and her family united and dug a hole together in their backyard to welcome her Christmas present into the family. They all share composting resources, they changed the way they cook in the kitchen, and they rethink the things they buy. Composting has informed her family’s habits and the life they are now living. Diana reflects: “It has definitely brought something new and fun into our house that is also helping the Earth.”
Additionally, quarantine has shifted her view on what waste needs to be reduced and how composting can help. One notable example is the uptick in ordering online and how that influenced her view on what needs to be repurposed. In LA County, where she lives: “When the malls were shut down, my family was definitely ordering a lot from Amazon, or ordering online in general, and it was very frustrating to me to see the boxes being put back in the recycling bin.” Her solution? She cuts down the boxes and puts them in her composting bin. With COVID-19 being responsible for her increased production of domestic waste, Diana describes that her composting practices were “born out of necessity.”
I saw Diana's composting forming community bonds, and I asked her if she saw what I saw: a tie between community and composting. Diana revealed that composting as a form of community building goes beyond her familial bonds, it reaches her dream organizations of LACompost and CompostableLA. Diana envisions that these organizations can create branches around LA County and beyond to engage and educate even bigger communities, including her own Del Aire area.
In our conversation, Diana laughs and tells me that the composting bin has even changed the gifts she wants. It began with Christmas when she asked her dad if she could get a bin from Costco to DIY for a composting bin, (check out the Pomona EcoReps Instagram to see the process!). Diana’s parents heard the message loud and clear and proceeded to include red wiggler worms in her Christmas present. 3 months later, Diana casually slips in that for her birthday (today, March 16), she told her mom she wanted to get more… worms.
The ultimate lesson: “Waste, in general, can be repurposed.”
Diana’s journey has taught her about food waste, types of scraps, and what non-food items are compostable. Her composting bin has encouraged her to do research and be continuously informed; Diana is now aware of the harms of orange peels, the surprises of toilet paper rolls, and the joys of composting napkins. The ultimate lesson: “Waste, in general, can be repurposed.”
It was no surprise that Diana’s composting bin has been a success. The compost bin has led to Diana being more aware of what she eats and what she throws away—a major accomplishment in her eyes. Diana has greater knowledge of where her food scraps are going, she tells me that she feels better “knowing my food scraps aren’t going nowhere.” Instead, her scraps are going back to the place they started: the dirt. The journey of Diana’s produce scraps can be easily traced from cradle to grave, or because they complete a full cycle from soil to soil, the process is from cradle-to-cradle.
Part of the success of Diana’s composting bin has obviously been about engaging a larger group of people. She urges others to get involved: “It is not a solo project. It is more fun when you do it with others because they hold you accountable” she continues, “You are sharing sustainable habits and creating community.”
When Diana learns, I learn. She teaches me: “Composting doesn’t have to be a super-intensive bin that you buy that is hundreds of dollars. You can just learn about a specific food scrap, like banana peels or eggshells, and use that in your garden.” Bottom line: “it doesn’t have to be a ‘traditional’ compost, you can still use your food scraps and give it a second life, or second purpose.”
Diana is clearly redefining what composting is, simplifying it, and debunking any myths, she explains, “it can just be you putting things aside until you are ready to get out to your garden and use it.” Her biggest tip is just that—start simple. “There are so many random ways you can use food scraps that do not have to be in the ‘traditional’ sense of composting. If you notice your own habits, like using a certain produce or having leftovers of a specific food, you can find a way to repurpose it.”
Maria Duran Gonzalez is currently living in Miami, Florida, and is a first-year prospective Environmental Analysis major. She is passionate about food justice, gardening, and intersectional environmentalism.