With household food waste rapidly filling up landfills leaving a significant impact on the environment, it is key to be mindful of your trash production and how you choose to dispose of your household food waste. A frequent practice that has a positive impact on the environment is composting. Composting is a natural process that recycles organic material into valuable fertilizer and is also known to drastically cut methane emissions from entering the environment. In this blog, we will discuss how you can start composting your own household food waste, with tips along the way.

How to Compost Household Food Waste

If you want to compost at home, there are many options and techniques you can use depending on the space you have. Composting can be done both indoors and outdoors, although outdoor composting is more efficient if you produce larger amounts of waste.

• Indoor Composting: Small worm bins, also known as vermicompost, fit well in small spaces and produce no odor if maintained properly. You can purchase these online or make your own.
• Outdoor Composting: If you produce more household food waste, you can place a large bin outdoors or section off an area of your yard to begin. Compost tumblers are also great for outdoor spaces and require limited maintenance, mixing itself.

What Household Food Waste Can and Can’t Be Composted?

To start your compost bin, begin with small sticks and old potting mix as a base layer to promote circulation. After the base layer, you can begin adding other materials such as greens and kitchen scraps. In between each layer, make sure to add a bit of water.

Allowed in Compost Bin: Fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, dry leaves, tea bags and coffee filters, eggshells, hair, dryer lint, non-meat kitchen scraps, nail clippings, paper towels, animal cage bedding, household paper, cotton balls, and wine corks.

Not Allowed in Compost Bin: Meat scraps, grease, whole eggs, dairy products, diseased plants, baked goods, citrus peels, onions, garlic, glossy and coated paper.

How to Maintain Your Compost Bin

As you begin to add more scraps to your compost bin, it is important to keep track of the airflow and moisture. A great rule to go by is to check that the consistency of your materials is comparable to a wrung-out sponge. You can empty your compost bin as often as you would like, just make sure that food scraps are never touching the open holes at the top so that there is proper airflow.

Dealing with Extra Household Waste

If you have extra household waste that is not able to be composted, we offer options to help with additional trash collection.

• Request an Additional Pickup: If you predict that you’ll have a large amount of waste for the week from a get-together, you can request an additional pickup. Contact us here for the pickup fee.
• Upgrade Your Bin and Pickup Frequency: If you have a 65-gallon bin, you can upgrade to our 95-gallon bin. If your pickup is every other week, you can upgrade to every week.

 

At LeBoeuf Rubbish Removal, we are here to help you make informed rubbish removal decisions. If you have any more questions on composting or extra pickups, you can contact us here or give us a call at (508) 764-6677. You can also learn more about our residential and commercial services through our website. We are at your disposal.