Don’t get us wrong, we love to get creative in the kitchen by roasting our broccoli stalks, pickling our watermelon rind and making vegetable broths, but there are times that we end up with more vegetable skins and peels than we know what to do with. Rather than allow all of that organic goodness to end up in landfill, composting is the obvious answer.
Why compost?
Put simply, composting returns valuable nutrients to the soil keeping it healthy and alive. Think about it, plants need nutrients to grow, which they take from the soil, so if we keep growing fruits and vegetables and throwing the peels in landfill, those precious nutrients leave our soils and never return. If we want healthy soils we need healthy compost and that’s where we come in!
Will my scraps not break down in landfill?
For veggie scraps to break down they need a mix of oxygen, moisture, micro-organisms and heat. Because landfills are so compacted, oxygen cannot reach the organic matter and it either remains whole or starts to break down anaerobically (without oxygen) which releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is 72% more powerful than CO2 which means it’s responsible for hastening climate related issues!
So you’ve decided to collect your food scraps...now what!?
First thing to decide is do you want to create your own compost or give it away? If you have the space and you want to start your own compost at home then this is where the fun begins! It’s super easy and we’ve got a guide on how to do this here.
If you want to upgrade your composting game, then consider investing in a Subpod. This design looks beautiful in any garden space and allows the worms to do their work directly in the soil giving you fresh compost to use on your flowers and vegetables.
If you have the time, but no garden space, there are other options to explore.
Worm farms are growing in popularity and are one of the most common forms of indoor composting! There are loads of tutorials online where you can learn how to do this yourself.
If you don’t have a backyard or enough time to start composting yourself then there are still plenty of ways you can get involved!
If you’re one of the lucky ones with a Green Organics Bin you can collect all of your food scraps into our Compost Bin and empty it daily. As well as food scraps the Green Bins accept soiled cardboard, garden waste and our compostable bin liners which are certified to Australian Composting Standards. Look out for the seedling logo!
Community gardens will usually take food scraps too - just make sure you contact them before dropping them off. You might meet some new neighbours and bag yourself some free veggies along the way! You can also try connecting with neighbours or local farmers to see they will take it off your hands. Try community Facebook groups, Farmers Markets, Recycling Near You or Sharewaste.
Top tip! If you are donating your food scraps to someone else and you are worried about the smell, a handy tip is to freeze your scraps until you can drop them off!
Keen to get started but want some inspo for how to manage the waste correctly in your home in order to actually stick to your composting goals? Read our blog on Four Bins to Help You Manage Your Waste.
If you're ready to get started, we have your countertop home composting needs sorted - shop here.
