View Full Version : Collecting kitchen scraps
So, pre-compost bin, any thoughts on the best way to get scraps together? I had been using an open plastic bucket... but being out of town for a few days plus extra-hot weather gave me a nice gnat crowd and convinced me it's time to change my ways. :|(
flowerseverywhere
7-5-11, 5:38pm
I use a covered casserole dish on the counter and empty it every few days. If we go out of town I make sure to empty and rinse it, as well as the garbage. Never had a problem. I did not buy any fancy counter gadget but used what I had on hand. In the winter I move a covered garbage can right by the back door and we deposit stuff there until the snow melts then put it in the regular compost bin when we can get to it.
I use a covered casserole dish on the counter and empty it every few days. If we go out of town I make sure to empty and rinse it, as well as the garbage. Never had a problem. I did not buy any fancy counter gadget but used what I had on hand.
I do something similar (ceramic bowl, with a plate as a lid) and it works fine. I used to have a crock with a vacuum seal lid, but it broke. And I don't have gnats any more now than I did then (that is, I only get them occasionally, and it's only when I've been lazy about emptying it). Emptying it every few days is fine, unless it's extra hot in the kitchen.
Kara
I went to Goodwill and got a big white (opaque ceramic) cookie jar, the kind with a lid that has a rubber seal around the edge of it. It sits on the counter next to the sink, and every once in a while someone tries to fish a macaroon out of it, and amid great consternation finds banana peels and coffee grounds instead. That's an extra added bonus for me :D
I just use an old ice cream bucket and lid but I also have two teenagers so I can have them run it out to the compost bin daily to dump it.
I just use an old ice cream bucket and lid but I also have two teenagers so I can have them run it out to the compost bin daily to dump it.
Would you consider renting/selling one of the teens? That way I can save myself the trouble of finding a new scrap container :)
I picked up a large plastic Folgers coffee container at the recycling place. Lid snaps on. I keep it under the kitchen sink and when full run it out to the bin. On the way back, if it smells bad or has really gooey stuff left in it I stop at the outside faucet and rinse it, throwing that water on the flowers. Occasionally I put it in the dishwasher.
We did get a stainless steel countertop one for our wedding. It is nasty inside now and we line it with one of the doggie poop bags we get from my MIL.
All the other solutions sound a lot more frugal!
I picked up a cute little red, metal, trash can with a lid that was suppose to be an ice bucket (on sale at Cost Plus years ago). It works great and looks good too sitting by the sink. I rinse it outside after I empty it into the compost pile and because the outside finish is enamel it still looks like new.
+1 on the Folgers snap on lid canister
I swear by (and love) my old ice cream pail! With it's lid I can seal it (when need be), then dump when I get around to it. It washes up nicely and stores away neatly. Been using it for years and years!
You have all inspired me...most of the time my kitchen scraps just go down the disposal. It is a hassel to take them out to the compost bin. I will hunt around for a container!
Originally posted by Greg44.
most of the time my kitchen scraps just go down the disposal. It is a hassel to take them out to the compost bin.Shame on you! http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10172/eusa_naughty.gif
Your funny Mrs-M.
I was trying to remember how old my 'ice cream pail pre-compost hold it till I can get the guys to run it out to the bin' thing is. Must be 8 years old or so since I think its been 8 years since we found out DH was lactose intolerant and that would of been the last time I'd bought icecream in a container larger than a pint.
I use an empty plastic kitty litter container, empty it at least once a day, and generally rinse it out. I also wash it fairly regularly because I put everything that is compostable in it, including uneaten foods, both human and feline. On the down side, I pretty much have to be the one to put anything in it because my wife doesn't like the idea and complains when I even open it up while she's in the kitchen.
Well, I guess it's off to pick up a bucket with a lid. Appears no one is using any fancy containers with charcoal filters or anything like that ;)
How are you all defining kitchen scraps?
How are you all defining kitchen scraps?
Since I compost on a three-year rotation, I compost pretty much everything that isn't plastic or metal. This includes cardboard, food packaging, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, vegetable or meat scraps, bones, spoiled meat or vegetables, milk, juice or other beverages, any outdated foods, cat litter and uneaten cat food, etc. Persuading my wife to compost is another matter, as I'm always digging stuff out of the trash. I have gotten a bit compulsive about composting but it works for me, since it cuts my trips to the transfer station from one or two per week to one every two or three weeks. My compost isn't used on food crops but after a three year rotation, I wouldn't be afraid to use it on a food crop. I should probably point out that the cat litter goes directly into the compost and not into the plastic bin that we use to collect compost.
Float On. I just reviewed my playful scolding post of poor old Greg44 and had a good laugh! :) Sorry Greg, just couldn't help myself! :~) (All in fun).
As far as kitchen scraps go in our house, Kfander has done an awesome job outlining what exactly kitchen scraps are and aren't. If I may I'd like to add coffee grounds to Kfanders list.
If I may I'd like to add coffee grounds to Kfanders list.
Definitely coffee grounds, and tea bags too. Coffee grounds are great food for the compost.
Mrs-M - I know, I know! When I am stuffing all that produce down the disposal -- I am thinking shame on me!
Kfander - I would think that a lot of that stuff would really begin to stink in the compost pile??
We use a kitty litter bucket. No lid. In the summer those little flying gnats hover over it.
I think that, since we now have air conditioning on our first floor, there will be less decomposition, fewer gnats, less smell. This is what I hope. We compost all vegetative matter also coffee gorunds (but we seldom have them.) Oh yeah--hair. Also whatever I sweep up from the floor goes there.
Well, I guess it's off to pick up a bucket with a lid. Appears no one is using any fancy containers with charcoal filters or anything like that ;)
I have one of the fancy containers with a charcoal filter. It is on the shelf in my garden shed because it was more hassle than it was worth.
About once a year in the dead of winter we buy organic mixed greens in a plastic container at the grocery store. When the greens are gone we use the plastic container as our counter-top compost container. It's flimsy plastic, but it lasts a year until we get a "new" one and then we recycle the old one. As many others do, we rinse it at the outdoor faucet after dumping it and, when necessary, give it a quick scrub. We generally compost coffee grounds, tea bags, the occasional piece of moldy bread, egg shells, dog hair, and the scraps from fruits/vegetables. We're a mostly vegetarian household and have 3 dogs, so we don't have to worry about meat scraps! We probably empty our counter top bin about once every 2 weeks. When we doing large amounts of food prep, we use a paper bag for the vegetable/fruit waste and throw the whole mess into the compost pile when we're done.
Greg44, I put all my plant material (My diet is mainly plant based) in my bucket and sometimes, but only when I lift the lid, it won't smell too good in there but the bucket gets emptied several times a week so it is never stinking up the kitchen. I will also put in paper towels and kleenex/tissues, oh yes egg shells too. I'd say coffee grounds but I went to instant a few years ago.
Well Mrs.-M, I want you to know I trotted out to the compost bin after lunch - heaping plate of watermelon, lettuce, tomato ends, bag of salad we never got to...! I feel like a better person!
I have put a "container" on my shopping list - for my first ever trip to a thrift store!
Kfander - I would think that a lot of that stuff would really begin to stink in the compost pile??
Not when you cover the smelly stuff with hay, wood chips, peat moss, or shredded paper. I use the latter since the post office generally sends me way more than I need for free, in the form of junk mail, to which I add shredded newpapers, magazines and the like. It may sound silly, largely because it is silly, but I sometimes sign up for stuff that I know will result in a bunch of junk mail just for the compost.
I also compost lint and anything that we vacuum up from the floor, since the latter consists largely of cat hair. Four cats is about three too much, but three of them are twenty-one years old so I shouldn't complain.
Well Mrs.-M, I want you to know I trotted out to the compost bin after lunch - heaping plate of watermelon, lettuce, tomato ends, bag of salad we never got to...! I feel like a better person!
I have put a "container" on my shopping list - for my first ever trip to a thrift store!I am so, so proud of you Greg!!! Good on you! When you're out snooping/nosing around the thrift stores for a compost holding bucket, look for an old ice cream pail! They really do work great! Lightweight, easy to clean/wash. :)
Kfander. Yes, tea bags too! :)
coffee,ice cream tubs,wide mouth plastic jars,buckets whatever is empty at time need
I have put a "container" on my shopping list - for my first ever trip to a thrift store!
First ever? It's addicting. But I do find so many things that are on my list.
Other ideas for your counter top compost bin - a lot of times at the thrift shop I'll see plastic pitchers, cooking pots, bathroom size trash cans, large decorative tins (popcorn or cookie size). Just make sure you go with the idea of 'something that will hold stuff'.
Mrs. Hermit
7-11-11, 8:31am
I use a thrifted crock with a plate on top. Love it cookie jar idea! What a laugh that would cause!
How are you all defining kitchen scraps?
I think you might enjoy The Humanure Handbook even if you don't go as far as the author in his composting quest ;)
http://humanurehandbook.com/
Or, like kfander outlined, just about everything is compostable. The key is cover, aerobic composting, and a thermophilic phase during the cycle.
treehugger
7-11-11, 12:26pm
Adding to the list of compostable items (besides kitchen scraps): dryer lint (in our house, it's mostly pet hair), cotton from the inside of newly-opened vitamin bottles, and my own hair from the shower drain. I keep a small container in the laundry room to collect the former and in the bathroom to collect the latter (along any any other miscellaneous bathroom-generated compostables).
Between composting, recycling, and buying less in general, we have reduced our garbage output to fit in the smallest size can allowable by the garbage company. And we don't even usually fill that up each week.
Kara
the smallest size can allowable by the garbage company. And we don't even usually fill that up each week.
Kara
And that is why I gave up trash service. Between composting, recycling, buying less it just didn't make sense to spend $29 a month for trash service. We just save it up (in secure cans behind the studio) till we have a truck load and then go to the transfer station. They have a minium charge of $5 and we rarely go over that unless we have a lot of studio waste and we go maybe every 6-8 weeks.
treehugger
7-11-11, 1:49pm
And that is why I gave up trash service. Between composting, recycling, buying less it just didn't make sense to spend $29 a month for trash service. We just save it up (in secure cans behind the studio) till we have a truck load and then go to the transfer station. They have a minium charge of $5 and we rarely go over that unless we have a lot of studio waste and we go maybe every 6-8 weeks.
That's great. You save so much money that way. We live in one of those places where we are required to pay for some type of trash service, but it only costs us $13 per month, and that includes a giant recycling bin and every other week yard waste pickup (which we use for larger trimmings that would never break down in our small compost heap).
Kara
Hey Gregg, don't forget to chop the stuff into smaller pieces for faster decomposition. And aren't you the one that either has or wants chickens? don't forget to scoop the poop!
Hey Gregg, don't forget to chop the stuff into smaller pieces for faster decomposition.
In the past I mainly have composted garden stuff - mainly lawnclippings, leaves, prunings from roses, etc. I thought of the chopping part as I dumped another bag of stuff in this a.m. - full brocolli head, bunch of bananas, etc. I will need to chop stuff up a bit - thanks for the reminder. I see good composting is a bit of a science.
I see good composting is a bit of a science.
It's actually gets fun after awhile, which I didn't expect. Now that I have a hundred acres of undeveloped property, bordered by more undeveloped property, I get to experiment with compost methods without fear of neighbors complaining. For example, I am currently experimenting with the "let-the-bear-begin-the-composting-process method", as you can see here - http://www.miscellaneousstuff.net/PRMS0015.mov
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.