How to Compost Kitchen Waste That will Help You Turn Scraps into Soil

If you have a lot of leftover scraps, you might be interested in learning to Compost Kitchen Waste.

I am a gardener who also eats a lot of fruits and vegetables. I also have a lot of waste from my two little girls who sometimes take more than they can eat on their plates. Knowing how to compost kitchen waste has not only helped me have a place for the waste to go. It has helped my gardens, too.

The great thing about composting is that it turns scraps into soil. How amazing is that! Something valuable and rich that you can use again to grow more. What’s not to like?

In this post, I will:

– Help you get started learning how to compost kitchen waste.
– Teach you what kitchen scraps should go into your compost…and what shouldn’t.
– Let you in on the ins and outs of the composting process.

Listen Here to the Podcast Episode:

Composting is a great natural place for kitchen waste to go. Let’s dig right into the benefits and tell you how you can get started.

Getting Started with Composting

The first thing you have to do when you decide you want to start composting your kitchen waste is to obtain a compost bin. I’ll go into that more in a second.

But you also need to know what you can put into a compost. Compost is soil (basically) and soil is a scientific compound. There’s more to soil than you think. There’s for a proper environment for earthworms and microbials. And so much more.

So, you need to keep in mind that compost must be an even distribution of materials to make the end result correct. It is sort of like building a lasagna. You alternate materials, moist and dry, green and brown.

I’ve linked to some other posts below that will go more into the science of this topic of composting. For today, we are going to stay inside our kitchen and talk solely about learning how to compost kitchen waste.

Composting Food Waste Benefits

There’s many benefits to composting food waste. I’ve already talked about a few. Another one is convenience.

Ya know, as a Ruralite myself, I don’t really have the capability of having a trash bin or a place to store waste. Growing up, my parents had a burn pile that would turn the waste into a firery pile of ashes. But then it couldn’t be used making great soil.

Also, the struggle of not having a place to put waste is just that. A struggle. Yes, we could feed it to the pigs or chickens. That is always an option. But you shouldn’t feed them a lot of that type of thing so then you still have some leftover. Plus, they don’t eat everything you can put into a compost bin.

That’s where having a compost bin can serve as a place to put those types of waste that can’t really be used for anything else. Let’s talk about the good scraps that work good for compost.

Kitchen Scraps You Can Compost

I should say (kitchen and home scraps). This is a short list but it’s enough to start to make a proper amount of compost from your waste.

Here’s the list:

– Fruit and vegetable peelings and scraps,
– Tea bags/coffee grounds,
– Egg shells,
– Grass cuttings or leaves from indoor plants,
– Small amounts of shredded paper or soft cardboard,
– Animal Hair,
– Vaccuum or swept up floor dust/dirt.

So, as you can tell, there’s some thing you probably should not ever put into your compost. Here is the list for that.

Kitchen Scraps You Should Avoid

For certain reasons, there are items you should really avoid adding into your compost:

– Citrus peels
– Onions
– Fish and Meat scraps
– Glossy/Coated paper
– Ashes from a fireplace
– Dairy products.
– Pet waste

These items aren’t great for compost because they change up the nutrient composition of the compost. Again, you can read some of my other composting posts for more science based information. Let’s talk briefly about how compost is made.

How to Make Compost

Basically, great soil is made up of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and natural organisms. So, you want to add in an even mix of green materials, brown materials and nitrogen to make a good environment for the microorganisms to get to work breaking down the compost materials.

And that’s why compost should be layered like a lasagna. The layers should be green material, brown material, nitrogen, soil, water. Then, just let the magic happen, turning it ever so often.

How long does the composting process take?

The common composting process takes 6 months to a year to complete. If you just throw in pieces and scraps and large amounts of waste, it’s going to take longer. There’s a quicker way.

To cut that time in half, keep your compost pile small. Kitchen compost in a small compost bin will get hotter quicker than out in a large compost bin.

Then, turn it over to allow air in about once per week. This also helps get air to the earthworms and microbes that are working hard to help breakdown the compost.

Continue to keep the compost moist. and the carbon to nitrogen ratio of 2:1 right as you continue to add more in. Keep the pieces as tiny as possible. That will also help speed up the compost process.

Top 5 Simple compost bins for your Kitchen Waste

I’m about to share with you 5 top rated compost bins for your kitchen. These are the bins that hold in the smells while you keep them conveniently in your kitchen.

1. The Farmhouse style Kitchen compost bin. It’s 13 gallon, easy to clean and comes with some great non-smelling filters.

2. For Teal Lovers Compost Bin: A compost bin in your favorite color! It’s easy to use and cute on your countertop. Plus, it comes with charcoal filters and a great how-to guide.

3. Mountable Kitchen Compost Bin: The simple choice for anyone who wants their compost bin out of reach.

4. Simple Akaboo Compost Bin: An elegant edition to your kitchen. Who will even know it has kitchen waste in it?

5. Enloy Compost Bin: Similar to the Akaboo. Still elegant and comes with filters.

Convert Kitchen Waste into Compost

There’s a lot of good benefits to learning how to compost kitchen waste. It’s simple and convenient. And if you get a little compost bin, you’ll find that they actually make a really cute edition to your kitchen.

All you have to do is bite the bullet and get started saving your waste.

~ Much Love ~

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