Reducing our polluting impact doesn't have to start with huge investments such as electric vehicles and solar panels. It can be as simple as composting our food waste.
The upfront cost of embracing this change isn't high, but that doesn't mean knowing where to begin is obvious. That's why one person asked the r/OffGrid community for advice.
"Can I get some suggestions for start to finish compositing solutions?" the original poster wrote. "First, in our kitchen I would like a system for containing food scraps in as odorless way as possible… Next I imagine these would get tossed when the container is full into an outdoor composting unit… I have no idea what is all involved but looking to learn what composting system has worked for you."
🗣️ If you compost your food scraps, what's your primary motivation?
🔘 Improving my garden's soil 🌱
🔘 Saving money on fertilizer 💰
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 I don't compost 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Thankfully, plenty of useful tips and tricks were forthcoming, helping the OP take their first step on a sustainable journey.
"We put our scraps in an old cook pot with a lid," one person said. "When it's full we bring it out to a large rubbermaid style trash barrel that is drilled full of 1/2 holes. We have two and when one is full we let it compost and switch to the other."
"A 1 or 2 gallon bucket in the kitchen that gets emptied into a larger bin in the yard," added another. "The outdoor bin should let air pass. I've used a cylinder of hardware cloth. A bin made from pallets works great too, but would be a bit big for a kitchen waste powered compost bin."
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, food waste is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills. Considering that these trash sites are already overflowing and producing vast amounts of planet-warming pollution and that an estimated 30% to 40% of the food supply is wasted, keeping as much food out of the garbage as possible makes sense.
Making food last longer is one thing that can help. Cutting up vegetables and storing them in airtight containers in the fridge can keep them from going bad, and freezing pasta sauces can stop them from gathering mold. Turning leftover vegetable scraps into stocks and soups can also make your weekly shop stretch further, save money, and stop your bins from filling up so quickly.
Composting can keep food from heading to landfills and can eventually create a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer for your garden. What's more, you'll be surprised how much composting will reduce the number of plastic trash bags you buy and throw out.
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