How to compost table scraps

After a meal, most people simply toss their leftover food in the trash or put it through the disposal. But, did you know that our food actually takes up 30% of our garbage? Do Your Part to reduce that amount by composting. And, don’t worry — if you don’t have the yard space, there’s a super simple alternative.

If you want it outside simply use a compost bin or find a place outside to get started. The key is to keep a balance of green and brown. Green waste is rich in nitrogen and can include most of your food waste and lawn clippings. The brown is carbon-rich items like branches, dried leaves, coffee filters, egg shells, or sawdust. The key to any good compost recipe is to have a little more carbon than nitrogen. Every so often, give it a stir to help the decomposition process.

The one thing you don’t want to put in an outdoor compost pile is meat products or bones because it attracts animals.

But say you really don’t have the space outside for a compost pile or rather have something a little more convenient. There is an electric composter by Nature Mill that can be shipped right to your door. It comes with just about everything you need to get started including saw dust pellets. You can put most anything in it – even meats – and the appliance does the rest. Every so often the upper chamber automatically mixes and aerates, then it dumps it into the lower chamber. Every two weeks, there’s new batch of nutrient-packed compost. The electricity it uses comes out to about 50 cents a month and the machine is made with recycled and recyclable materials.

So what to do with the compost? It’s the perfect fertilizer for garden plants, your lawn, shrubs and trees. And as you spread out your compost you will Do Your Part to keep all that food waste from going to our landfills.