Gransnet forums

Gardening

Composting household food waste

(59 Posts)
Jaxjacky Sun 19-Mar-23 18:53:00

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.

choughdancer Sun 19-Mar-23 18:49:21

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.

NotAGran55 Sun 19-Mar-23 18:47:08

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.

Germanshepherdsmum Sun 19-Mar-23 18:37:36

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.

BlueBelle Sun 19-Mar-23 18:37:01

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

Calendargirl Sun 19-Mar-23 18:32:08

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.

Wheniwasyourage Sun 19-Mar-23 18:03:52

We have had a Green Cone composter (google Green Cone - sorry I've never got the hang of doing links blush) 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.

MrsKen33 Sun 19-Mar-23 17:37:46

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

Etheldreda Sun 19-Mar-23 17:30:29

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?