Composting household food waste

Fleurpepper

Greyduster

^Quote Fleurpepper Mon 20-Mar-23 08:14:13
Is that in the UK Greyduster?^

I take it that was in response to the incinerator comment?
Yes it is UK.

Ah thanks. Where is this?

Where are incinerators the norm in the UK, and not landfill? Would be really interested to know. Thanks.

There’s a huge incinerator in Basildon.

Thanks Monica.

Fleurpepper A list of waste incinerators in the UK can be found here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_incinerators_in_the_United_Kingdom

54 in all, including one run by my county council, and more planned.

I think big gatherings are the exception to the rule. You are bound to get food waste

Of course. That was my point.

For those of us who have people round most every day, no plan involved, there's much cooked food that can't be composted/ must be disposed of. We're lucky with land, foods feed animals, not everyone has that.

Our food waste recycling is quite separate from the garden waste recycling.

The garden waste is composted in commercial composters. Food waste goes to an anaerobic digester. The methane so generated is fed into the grid and I think the waste matter left is used as an agricultural fertiliser.

I live in Sheffield. I would hope that the system is in use in many local authorities. The system heats a large boiler which produces steam that is used to drive a turbine, generating electricity for the National Grid and producing hot water for the District Energy network.

{Sigh}
Yet again OP has not returned to discuss, elaborate or comment on our contributions

There are incinerators in the Midlands.

Greyduster

^Quote Fleurpepper Mon 20-Mar-23 08:14:13
Is that in the UK Greyduster?^

I take it that was in response to the incinerator comment?
Yes it is UK.

Ah thanks. Where is this?

Where are incinerators the norm in the UK, and not landfill? Would be really interested to know. Thanks.

My council has moved from one contract to another (cheaper) one. They no longer take (say) rotten/caterpillar eaten cabbage leaves in the brown "garden waste" bin as they used to

I asked them "what if I've grown it myself -surely that is garden waste?"
They said " not if you take the leaves off inside as it's then kitchen waste".

^Quote Fleurpepper Mon 20-Mar-23 08:14:13
Is that in the UK Greyduster?^

I take it that was in response to the incinerator comment?
Yes it is UK.

Norah me too (see post above yours)

Calendargirl
what about leftovers and plate scrapings?

I don’t wish to sound ‘too good to be true’, but as I posted earlier, we really don’t leave anything on our plates.

I gather we are the only people of a large family who have leftovers and plate scrapings. Not a problem as we do feed animals and compost into our various places on the land - but others do have rules to follow.

Grayduster We had a 7 kilo turkey at Christmas. By the time I had finished with the carcase it fitted - just - into a small worktop caddy.

Our council supplied us with a worktop food waste caddy and a bigger pedal bin sized one to transfer food waste into from the smaller one. I have yet to use the bigger bin. It sits in a corner of the garage, unused.

Norah I think big gatherings are the exception to the rule. You are bound to get food waste, when you may have visiters who may not be as environmentally conscious around their eating patterns as you. I just accept that is something I cannot control. I also sometimes give up when DS and family visit. I do my best to keep waste to the minimum, but at least keep it to a lower level than they have at home. DD thankfully is as fussy over food waste as I am.

HPQ I put crushed egg shells, orange peel, bananaskins on the compost heap together with bits of paper, kitchen towel, sometimes, cardboard, providing it doesn't have any anything like a plastic film of metallic coating. In fact anything that is made from vegetable matter and would go mushy if it gets wet.

Calendargirl I have nearly no food waste but if I ate meat I would have bones. They don't completely dissolve even if you make stock.
Likewise if you de-scale fish - or pit cherries or olives. There is generally some sort of food waste.

what about leftovers and plate scrapings?

I don’t wish to sound ‘too good to be true’, but as I posted earlier, we really don’t leave anything on our plates, and if I cook too many potatoes or vegetables say, they are either used the next day or frozen and added to another meal somehow.

😇

And when the GC were small, they knew not to expect big helpings, but also knew that seconds would be available if they wanted them. As GS said once “You don’t like waste do you Granny?”

I admit to confusion.

We had various meals for 10-30 all weekend - apart from peels, brown bits, and cores, what about leftovers and plate scrapings?

Credit where it is due, our council are pretty good at recycling. We have a weekly collection of a food waste caddy, fortnightly black bag, and fortnightly plastics, paper/cardboard, glass and tin cans. We put out the food waste bin every week, often with very little in it apart from egg shells and orange peel. Cheese and bread leftovers go out on the bird table. veg peelings into compost bin, and in the summer even the egg shells are used to deter slugs around my lettuces.

Whoops, just read that you can't put peelings in the green council compost bin - sorry!

I don't think Etheldreda is necessarily planning to waste food!

If there is no room for a hot composter or wormery, I've heard that Bokashi bins are brilliant; this one looks good as it fits into a kitchen, and is sealed so no smell.
www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/organico-bokashi-compost-kitchen-waste-bin-olive-white

Also feeding birds bread CAN be harmful if not done carefully: www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/feeding-birds/safe-food-for-birds/household-scraps-for-birds/

I think the OP's question is very sensible; many councils (like mine) don't collect food scraps, although you can probably get away with putting raw veg peelings in the garden compost green bin.

Apples peelings I put in field next door for blackbirds, thrushes and hedgehogs- they love it.

Iam64

I don’t throw food away but I do throw peelings or left overs, meat/fish bones. The council collects food waste in the green bin that also takes garden waste, trimmings, leaves, grass etc.
I compost some fruit/veg peel, dead flowers, garden waste but never meat - don’t want to encourage rats

Same here. I have 4 large enclosed recycled plastic bins, with lids- we bought from the Council 15 years or so ago. And another 5 wire bins. No meat, due to rats, foxes and badgers, etc. I keep all corrugated cardboard, soak it and tear up to add as a layer from time to time, to get right balance. And rotted manure, both horse and cow, from farmer next door but one, as accelerator. Each bin get emptied every 2 years on rotation.

eddiecat78

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-6499547

Sorry - that link doesn't work - can't work out how to delete it - the next link that I posted is correct

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64995473

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-6499547