Since 1985, there has been a silent serial killer plaguing the neighborhoods of South Baltimore. Its weapon of choice: air pollutants that poison the city from the inside out. Thousands of people are affected every year and still no justice has been served. Most know the culprit as the BRESCO trash incinerator, and although it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, composting initiatives have the potential to reduce its impact on Baltimore neighborhoods.

The BRESCO incinerator lies along Interstate 95 and has been disproportionately impacting many of Baltimore’s predominantly Black neighborhoods for decades. Most people passing by wouldn’t even realize that it accounts for 36% of Baltimore’s air pollutants and about $55 million a year in treatment for health concerns each year. Within the ominous black smoke pouring out of the white tower lies millions of annual pounds of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, carbon monoxide, soot and more. Together, these chemicals increase rates of asthma, chronic respiratory disease, stroke, skin irritation, headaches, heart disease and heart attacks among local residents.

The incinerator is part of a long-standing trend around the country of dangerous environmental hazards being placed in and around low-income, minority neighborhoods where the victims often lack the economic and political power to create change. Researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Montana analyzed 30 years of demographic data surrounding waste sites and revealed strong associations between neighborhoods with waste sites and the prevalence of racial and socioeconomic disparities. Unfortunately for the residents of South Baltimore who already have the highest asthma hospitalization rates and lower life expectancies compared with the rest of Maryland, there are no policies currently protecting vulnerable populations from this form of environmental racism. The Environmental Protection Agency provides no criteria on where hazardous waste sites must be located.

Baltimore can’t yet eliminate BRESCO altogether, but it can still reduce the amount of food going into the flames and in turn reduce its environmental impact. The incinerator burns about 700,000 tons of solid waste each year with food waste accounting for over 40% of the discarded trash. Composting can reduce this quantity through a process of collecting food scraps and using them to recreate rich soil that is perfect for cultivating fresh produce.

As the food scraps decay, the remaining nutrients seep into the soil to improve plant growth and reduce the need for fertilizers or pesticides. Extra fruits, vegetables, eggs, rice, bread, pasta and soup are just a few of the household compostable foods that never have to reach the incinerator at all. Given its effectiveness, many community organizations like the Baltimore Compost Initiative have begun to use composting as a method to both recycle food waste and use the acquired produce to target urban food insecurity.

Despite the many benefits of composting, some argue that the possibility of attracting pests and the need to avoid materials like meat and dairy make the strategy inconvenient at best. There is also an associated cost of equipment that individual households would need to bear. That is why it is imperative that composting become a unified effort between Baltimore’s anchor institutions including its many hospitals, universities and businesses. By utilizing their combined resources, these entities could partner with the city in diverting food waste away from the BRESCO incinerator. In addition to this, federal funding would help ensure that Baltimore gains the composting facility that it has been lacking for years.

It seems that whenever there is an injustice, those who have been the least equipped to handle the burden are the ones affected the most. Why should the people of South Baltimore bear the repercussions of the city’s incineration waste-management plan alone? This fight does not just belong to them, but everyone who has ever walked outside and taken a deep breath. Clean air is a right. Safe communities are a right. And we can all begin to create change in our own way. Those who are capable of composting at home can discard much of their food waste like this, but those who can’t can still support local composting initiatives through donations and volunteering. Most importantly, though, we all have the power of our voice. Simply reaching out to our congressional representatives can have large ripple effects in support for Baltimore composting when we do it together. Let’s keep the air pollution-free, one composted plate at a time.

Lisa Boyd is an environmental health and engineering master’s student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.