Seattle Trash Talk – Food Scraps get Organized

Recycling is more the norm around here as compared to other parts of the country. And now, food scraps are no exception since most non dairy or meat food products can go into the yard waste bin for composting. I’m not sure if this is better for the environment or how it would be, but it is convenient for our household by keeping the garbage can from filling up so quickly.

When we learned of food scraps being able to go into yard waste, we didn’t immediately run down to the store to purchase a $50 counter top compost bin. Something seems wrong with that idea especially when you factor in having to purchase liners and periodically replace the charcoal filter. We opted for a more frugal approach. We simply purchased a small attractive bin from Cost Plus World Market that would fit into our kitchen décor – it may actually be a small garbage can; a large canister would work as well. We made sure (or got lucky – I cannot remember) that the bin would accommodate the fruit and vegetable bags from the grocery store. Those sacks by the way are not recyclable so if your going to use them when buying fruits and vegetables then you may as well reuse them to line your food scrap bin. Of course when you dump the scraps most of the time you end up throwing away the bag. Not too green but at least you put them to extra use before you toss them.

The solution was inexpensive, fits the décor, and since the bin fills quickly enough it doesn’t become odorific. We also dump our used coffee grounds in this bin as well so they probably serve as compost incense. As you can see from the photo we also now have a place to put all those neat little stickers that come on the fruit we purchase.