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Your Kitchen Compost?
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Posted by
ERH1990 none (
My Page) on
Mon, Oct 31, 11 at 9:32
| What size buckets or containers do people use for their kitchen scraps? Or how much do you scrap Daily. I am just wondering if I need a smaller bucket to make me bring my compost out sooner or a larger bucket so I can be lazy :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| It doesn't take long for a bucket of compostables on the counter to make a bad impression on uninitiated visitors to your home. Given our Composters' Pledge to Do No Harm to the movement, it is inadvisable to use a bucket that will hold any more than 26 hours of scraps. Three things that can take place on the countertop---all the result of sloppy management---do more to discourage visiting potential composters than anything else: Fruitflies,stench, and sog. All three can be avoided by the fastidious composter. My friend keeps her compost bucket in her freezer, which I should do, too, now that I think about it. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| Mine is usually on a styro tray from some produce item, on a not-yet-washed plate, or in a plastic shopping bag. The styro tray gets 1 more use, as does the plastic bag. And the plate was going to get washed anyway. I go to the pile sometimes every other day, sometimes twice a day. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| If you're thinking about spending money on one and want to make sure it's the right size, you should experiment first with something free. Possible examples: - Bleach bottle or milk carton w/top cut off
- Ice cream or frozen yogurt bucket (1/2 - 1 gal)
- Plastic coffee can There are probably others. I use a 1-gal ice cream bucket with snap lid and handle, very handy for the compost. It fills up in 2-3 days, which is as long as I want to have stuff around anyway. In winter I put a 5-gal bucket with lid next to the back door, to save cold muddy trips to the bin. When it gets full, I wait for a warm day and haul it out there. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I use all kinds of containers to store fruit and veggie waste. I like the ones with tight fitting top, and sometimes put them in the freezer for a day if the stiff is not mushy enough for me. Used coffee grounds are placed in the 10-14-18 quart size Rubbermaid storage containers. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| The type of container you use depends IMO on how many 'compostables' you generate daily, what your kitchen counter esthetic is, and how much you want to spend. You can buy "a really nice one such as this" or spend $1 at the dollar store for a covered container. Mine is the 1 gallon size from the $1 store and I empty it daily. Most of the time it sits in my second sink out of the way. Occasionally gets a bath in the DW. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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A 1 gallon milk container makes a very good collection jug for material to add to the compost bin although in a four person household that may mean emptying it daily. Every compost collection thingy I have seen is much too expensive and most often requires the use of non renewable materials (plastic bags) for the collection.
The compost collection jug is not a decorative item. We keep ours under the sink, out of sight. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I have an old Tupperware pitcher from a garage sale. The lid seals so tightly that there is never an odor. I keep it under the sink & empty it whenever it gets full but I squash down a whole lot before I consider it full. It is convenient with the handle & will fit in the dishwasher but the best way to handle the odor when it builds up is to leave it outside in the sun occasionally after it is emptied. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I have about a 1 gallon stainless steel canister with a lid that I use as my compost bucket. This time of year in particular it is a big deal not to have too big a bucket since those little gnat-things are everywhere. I have to dump and wash out that bucket every day. I don't think there is a great advantage with going to something bigger. I collect coffee grounds and put my peels and things in one of the blue Maxwell House coffee tubs with a snap on lid. I like that they have a handle. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| If mine gets slimy and funky I rinse it with the hose (at least in warm weather) after dumping. That gets the worst of it out. Now and then I soak it in hot water with a tablespoon of bleach. Takes out the stains and kills the microbes on the surface for a shine so clean I can see myself. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I have a small pop-top trash can with an inner plastic bucket. Perhaps a gallon? We start with 1/3 of the bucket full of shredded junk mail to absorb liquids, and empty it into the bin at least every 2 days. Because of the amount of coffee brewed here, it's usually 1/3 paper, 1/3 coffee gournds and filters and 1/3 veggie scraps. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| A lidded bucket that once held 27 pounds of cat litter. It lives under the kitchen sink. I also put a layer of shredded newspaper on the bottom to absorb liquid, but the lid fits quite tightly and there are no odors/critter attacks. The bucket's contents go into the Biostack about every 4 days. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I use a plastic jug with a screw top lid that that pretzels were sold in. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I use a small size detergent bucket I got from my school that is next to my trash can. I empty it out every day, so have not had any issues with smell. I rinse it out occasionally and pour the water on the compost pile. I leave it outside to dry. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I use a 2 gallon white plastic "joint compound" type bucket. It is plain white, looks pretty good, and best of all costs 3 dollars-something at Home Depot. It gets filled and dumped about every 4-5 days, with only 2 people in household, one of whom (my son) doesn't like veggies. It could be dumped more frequently, but I procrastinate it a bit. I throw in a lot of paper products, all napkins, paper towels, tissues, paper plates, etc. so it is about 1/2 paper 1/2 food scraps. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| We use a big plastic ice cream bucket with a snapping lid and a handle. For two people, we can go about five-seven days before it's full and needs to be dumped in the compost. It gets a little funky at the bottom after that amount of time, but with the lid it never smells. We would probably hide it under the sink if we had guests in the house, but otherwise it sits on the counter within easy reach but away from where we prepare food. |
RE: Your Kitchen Compost?
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| I use the empty bucket with snap lid that came loaded with dog bisquits from costco. I throw some shredded newspaper in it to catch fluids, then give it to my neighbors. they return it on a weekly basis. Since I am by myself, I usually reuse grocery bags 3-4 times and freeze till I go out back. I have two 4x4 wooden bins, two different tumbling composters and a flowthrough with worms out back and a stacking worm bin in the garage. The inside worms end up with the special treats while everything else goes outside. |
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