Composting household food waste

We did begin composting food waste but we found it attracted rats so stopped.

We have had a Green Cone composter (google Green Cone - sorry I've never got the hang of doing links ) for years. You can put any food waste including meat and fish in it as it is set up so as not to attract vermin. After some time (depending how much you put into it and how sunny a spot it is in) you get a very concentrated compost which you can dig into the garden. I would recommend it to anyone who has a reasonably sunny spot to put one in. You don't get a lot of compost, but you can always keep vegetable peelings for an ordinary compost heap.

I don’t think we generate any food waste, to be honest. I think we eat everything.
Veg peelings, banana skins etc go in the compost bin. We eat bread crusts. DH and I have clean plates every meal.
If I cook too much, it’s eaten the next day.

I compost all my food waste (obviously not cooked food) only raw peelings etc I bought a large pot with a lid ( that’s important) I leave the lid upside down which covers it completely but also catches some rainwater which I mix in with the peelings etc then place back It’s working really well for me and it’s composted down to mulch within 6 months
Living on my own I don’t have a lot of other food waste but if I did have the odd bit left on my plate that does go in the black bin bag

What does your council class as food waste? The only food waste I have is peelings. There is no leftover cooked food waste apart from fat from meat which goes out for the birds.

GSM this is West Berkshire food waste list :

meat and fish
fruit and vegetables
cheese and eggs
bread and pastries
uneaten food from plates
tea bags and coffee grounds
Please do not put bones from red meat, oils, liquids or fats into your caddy.

I treated myself to a Green Johanna hot composter www.greatgreensystems.com/product/green-johanna-330-litre-hot-composter/

Expensive, but I had the same problem as you Etheldreda, with not being able to recycle cooked food etc.

I chose this one because it is made in the UK from 100% recycled plastic, and is sealed so rats can't get into it.
So far so good, but I've had it less than a year, so haven't taken out any compost yet. It's big and I was dreading setting it up on my own, but it was much easier than I thought once I'd worked out which way up everything was meant to be!

The other alternative for cooked food is a wormery which is smaller. I don't eat meat fish or dairy, but I've read that small quantities are okay.

Like others we have little no no waste, any part meals (if I’ve cooked to much) are eaten a couple days later, or frozen. Composted are veg/fruit peelings, eggshells and tea removed from the bags.

Any vegetable waste, peelings and the like, plus lots of paper, used kitchen towels, till slips etc, all go on the compost heap.

All that goes to food recycling is fish skins, bacon rinds, meat bones, chicken carcases after they have been stewed for stock and had every bit of meat removed.

Have you considered getting a dog? Labradors are pretty omnivorous.
Alternatively my nephew will always finish up leftovers (even food I had been planning on eating fort the rest of the coming week. )

What sort of food waste are you generating Etheldreda ?

I think I was not sufficiently clear. The council will only take garden waste. So not peelings, left over bread (say), or anything from the house, cooked or uncooked.

I don't have a compost heap. Nor really can I easily create space for one. But I did wonder about one of these composters of the kind Wheniwasyourage suggests.

I'm in Berkshire and all our food waste is collected to produce energy. They ask us to put old cooking oil in a bottle and put it out in the food bin.

Our food waste goes in with garden waste.
No messing about with caddies, kerb side collections etc. Also results in the garden waste bins being emptied all through the year, irrespective of garden stuff generated.

Likewise.
I have a grey food caddy which lives in the kitchen/utility room into which I can put peel/peelings/trimmings/bread/anything edible - even chicken bones etc- and thence into my green wheelie bin. It is collected weekly, winter and summer and the contents go into (I think) an anaerobic digester
From the council website
In the green wheeled bin

All food waste allowed, including ^
bread, baked goods
coffee grounds
dairy products
fruit and vegetables including peelings
mouldy or out of date food
pet food
plate scrapings
raw or cooked meat, fish or bones
tea bags
Garden waste allowed
dead flowers
grass
leaves
plants
small branches up to 15 cm in diameter
twigs
weeds
windfall fruit

Compostable items allowed
compostable cups and caddy liners that display the standard EN13432 or display the 'Seedling logo

Why don’t you ask your council to do more?

I have asked, and approached local Councillors, but am informed it is at present not economically viable.

Hence I am asking here what I can do to avoid things going into general, landfill, waste.

We can’t put food waste in our green bin I wish all councils followed the same ruling
I don’t understand why anyone would have ‘leftovers’ why don’t you eat it the next day or freeze it (or give it to the dog or cat if you have one )
Egg shells and banana skins are great for the garden as are coffee or tea leaves
I really don’t have anything I can’t manage ( I don’t eat meat or fish so nothing wasted there )
Compost bins don’t have to be huge the size of a bucket with a lid works fine

Etheldreda

Our Council will take garden waste but not food waste in the bin.

I know some Councils do take food waste.

I am reluctant to put my food waste into the general waste but that seems to be what has to be done.

I saw in Facebook Marketplace someone selling a home composter (can't remeber the exact title) but couldn't quite work out what it was about, but it did seem to be for food from meals etc.

Can anyone help with advice and knowledge?

We have one of theses barrel composters, made by Hozelock. In it we put vegetable peelings, fruit, coffee grounds, tea leaves, faded cut flowers, egg shells and biodegradable bags/ paper. We don’t put in any cooked food or bread. It is quite small and neat, but takes a huge amount. As the contents decompose the liquid filters into a bottle that can then be attached to your hose to fertilise the garden. The solid compost can be spread on the bed, obviously. We bought our at the local garden centre, but other places like DIY stores sell them.

Forgot photo!

Don’t think photos loading sorry.

Etheldreda

I have asked, and approached local Councillors, but am informed it is at present not economically viable.

Hence I am asking here what I can do to avoid things going into general, landfill, waste.

Then I think you could look at ways of reducing or eliminating food waste in your housekeeping. I can’t imagine why anybody would put bread out for instance.

Bread - keep in the freezer and use a slice at a time -or alternatively dry out stale bread in the oven, whizz into crumbs and use in cooking. Or put out stale bread crumbs to feed the birds!
Boil up bones or chicken carcasses to make stock and soup.
Consider scrubbing veg instead of peeling, lots of nutrients under that skin.
Do not overbuy or serve up too big portions.

All things our thrifty mothers or grannies would have done automatically.

We can't put any food waste in our green bin anymore. I was told that they only wanted actual garden waste (not even cut flowers!!).

My daughter has a hot-bin - i don't know the actual make but it will take everything from garden waste to thick card and even bones. It runs VERY hot as it's insulated. She's had it a few years now.

The birds will happily eat bread, which is the only food item OP has specified.

Foxes will happily eat food waste.

Controversial 😄