Jack's Composters
This garden composter is made from recycled products, and comes partially assembled. The frame is made of cedar wood and is nailed together with galvanized nails . It is light weight so it can be easily moved.
This composter is excellently suited for the owner who has limited yard space but who would like to participate in organic growing. The barrel turns easily on a steel rod to keep composting material well mixed so that it breaks down quicker.
Composting food scraps at home is one of the most
important aspects of home composting.
Why? Because food scrap items
such as vegetable and fruit waste, meal leftovers, coffee grounds, tea bags,
stale bread, grains, and general refrigerator spoilage are an everyday
occurrence in most households.
One of the "great waves" in municipal and
home recycling is the concentration on what to do with the enormous amount of
food waste generated in and out of the home, by businesses, or as a result of
surplus farming. On the grand scale, it is estimated that about one-half of all
food that is produced or consumed in the U.S. is discarded. The main culprits
are spoilage and overproduction/surplus.
A typical household throws away an estimated 474
pounds of food waste each year. Put another way, that is about 1.5 lbs per
person a day in the U.S. Food scraps generated by all households in the United
States could be piled on a football field more than five miles (26,400 feet)
high!
Up to 90 percent of waste thrown out by businesses like supermarkets and
restaurants is food scraps. In fact, food scraps are the third largest segment
of the waste stream with nearly 26 million tons generated each year. Of the
overall wastestream, about 12% is food-related, behind paper and plastic.
WHAT HOME FOOD WASTE CAN YOU COMPOST?
Not all food waste is created equal. You should know this or else you
may have problems popping up in your compost bin or pile.
BIG PROBLEMS!
Actually, once you look at the chart below, commonsense will be your guide.
DO COMPOST:
1. All your vegetables and fruit wastes (including rinds and cores) even if they are moldy and ugly.
2. Old bread, donuts, cookies, crackers, pizza crust, noodles, anything made of flour.
3. Grains (cooked or uncooked), rice, barley, you name it.
4. Coffee grounds, tea bags, filters.
5. Fruit or vegetables pulp from juicing.
6. Old spices.
7. Outdated boxed foods from the pantry.
8. Egg shells (crush well).
9. Corn Cobs and husks (cobs breakdown very slowly).
DON'T
COMPOST
1. Meat or meat waste, such as gristle, skin etc.
2. Fish or fish waste.
3. Dairy products, such as cheese, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.
4. Grease and oil of any kind.
WHY CAN'T YOU COMPOST THESE FOOD WASTES?
1. They imbalance the otherwise nutrient-rich structure of other food and vegetarian waste and breakdown slowly.
2. They attract rodents and other scavenging animals.
3. Meat attracts maggots.
4. Your compost bin will smell terrible!!!
CREATE A HOME FOOD WASTE PLAN!
Now that you know what you can compost out of your
kitchen, create a household plan. Use this plan from food preparation and
storage to kitchen storage, and ultimately to the compost bin.
Food Scraps at the Stove
Ever wonder how those sauces or soups at your
favorite restaurant are prepared? Yes, from vegetable scraps such as peels,
skins, stalks, etc.
Simply simmer a small pan of such scraps, as seen
on the front burner in the photograph, for a few hours, let cool, then store in
your refrigerator until you desire to make a soup or sauce. The stock is
delicious, and you did a little vegie recycling to boot!
How to Store Compostable Food Scraps
Many people who have an in-sink garbage disposal
don't even consider this fact: what they grind up ends up merging with the
wastestream leaving their house and into the larger wastestream of their
municipality. This definitely taxes municapl waste treatment facilties. Home
composting is a decision to have the buck stop at your household.
• Scraps can be stored in plastic bags in your
refrigerator until used in your compost bin
• Scraps can take up less space if you chop or shred
them first during meal preparation
• Scraps can be stored in a Kitchen Compost Pail
until taken to your compost bin
The KITCHEN COMPOST PAIL
The best way to store food scraps until thrown into
the compost bin is in a securely lidded Kitchen Compost Pail. This can be kept
near the sink or beneath it.
You can purchase a food scrap pail designed
specifically to securely store food scraps. Look for one with a tight-fitting
lid, adequate storage, aesthetic appeal, washable, and with a handle. You can
also use a plastic container, such as a 1-quart yogurt container for small
quantities of scraps.
Empty your containers daily or every few days,
depending upon how much waste you generate, or to insure that no smell starts
permeating the kitchen or home. You can always cover the scraps inside a
container with a wet paper towel or newspaper to cut down on odor or gnats.
You can decide to empty your kitchen food scrap pail directly into your
compost bin. This method is known as the Add-as-You-Go Pile, as thoroughly
described on this website. Better yet is to use a 4-5 gallon lidded bucket to
stockpile food scraps, as detailed below.
