Hey all,

In my recent post about popcorn kernels, I had a comment suggest that I could also just put the leftover kernels or stale popcorn to use for compost.

This has been something I’ve been thinking of for a while now. Guilty as charged, I’ve let good food spoil in my fridge while I’ve been figuring out what to do with it. While this has been getting better as I’ve been learning more vegan substitutions as I’m new to being vegan, as well as home cooking in general, I don’t want to throw my food waste in with the garbage as I have been doing for eons now when situations arise where something spoils on me.

My issue is that, while I was taught how composting works in school, they only ever taught us how to do so if we lived in a detached home that had a backyard. I have always lived in apartment buildings, and currently am living on a second floor apartment unit. While my city does allow for people to separate food waste from other garbage and recycling, and even encourages it, my current building does not have a designated area for food waste.

What options are available to me when it comes to disposing of food waste so that in the end, my waste isn’t quite “waste”? I should also likely add that I live in an area with a colder climate where winter (which is coming up soon here) often hits -30 C.

Thanks in advance!

  • JustinA
    4·
    1 month ago

    Food waste actually doesn’t smell if it’s kept dry. Put solid food waste, semi-dry coffee grounds, and oily paper towels into paper bags on an airy bag holder, and it should be fine for a few days to a week without any smells or flies.

    This doesn’t work for rotten food and larger amounts of raw meat, though. Those must be thrown directly into compost or trash.

    Make sure to keep it airy and dry, and use paper towels to absorb any extra liquids. If you let them sog up in a sealed bin, then they get gross.

    The resulting bags can be rolled up and closed and shouldn’t leak. You can use a plastic bag to be doubly sure if you’re taking them onto a bus. The bags can then be thrown into compost. in Sweden, they’re centrally collected to put into biogas reactors.