compost food scrapes
this post was originally published on June 21, 2019
why we should all be composting our food scraps
1. ur trash will stank less 🚫👃
2. you'll make less trash 🚫🗑
3. Mother Earth 💙🌎🌍🌏💙
by separating your food waste from your trash waste, you'll make less trash AND it will be wayyyyyy less smelly. which is a major plus in the summer time also known as the best season ever. you'll also play a role in lowering greenhouse gases, specifically methane
so like wtf to do with your food waste. I recommend keeping 2-4 big ziploc bags in your freezer. label them as "compost" and if you're feeling if you got this shit, label one as "stock". you can reuse these ziploc bags over and over and over until they literally fall apart
STOCK
YES make ur own mf stock! it's so easy! I put any bones (chicken, pork, I mix mine up) and scarps of veggies. I always make sure to save my onion skins (previously washed), ends of garlic, ends of carrots and the skins, ends and tops of celery, potato skins (previously washed/scrubbed), herbs that are on their way out but not rotten, kale stalks, the dark greens and ends of scallions or leeks. once I've filled up the bag, I'll take it out of the freezer, place it in a giant pot, fill with water, add a bay leaf or a makrut lime leaf, get it on the stove, bring to a boil and then let it simmer for a few hours. from there I strain the stock twice (if you're using any meat fat in your stalk you'll want to skim the fat off the top of the stock while its simmering), place the stock in a jar or two -get one in the fridge and one or both in the freezer. Now you have stock on hand!
COMPOST
the other bags are for straight up composting. strawberry greens, rotten food, dead -i mean dried- flowers, ends of lettuce, cucumber skins, coffee grinds and filters, egg shells, paper towels that dont have grease or chemicals like cleaners, teabags, etc. keep these bags in the freezer until they're all filled up and need to be dropped off. the smell will be non existent.
WHERE THO?
where to take these bags of compost? you've got a few options!
▪️perhaps your neighborhood has the brown trash cans for composting- well ain't you lucky! bring your compost down the morning of or night before trash day - so its less smelly
▪️what if you dont live in one of those lucky neighborhoods, BUT you live close to it? Bring your compost to one of those cans! Which is what I do :D okay, not always me, but I have my partner bring the bags up to the burg by his office. if anyone yells at you for "using" their compost bin, I would kindly remind them by denying me access to compost they're creating more greenhouse gasses 😇
▪️if this is not easily accessible google your neighborhood community gardens- there's usually one that accepts compost!
▪️Farmers markets also have composting stations (I bring mine to the Union Sq Greenmarket M/W/F). not only will you get your grocery shopping done, you'll do a lil something good for mother earth. best part about it is your compost is frozen and doesn't smell on your subway ride! not that it really matters since the subway smells in ways one would not think possible
here i am dropping off my compost in someone else's compost bin <3
♻️REUSE♻️ those ziploc bags until they cant be used anymore, there is no reason to throw it out after one use. you can rinse the bags after you've dropped off your compost, but I don't even do that, I just plop those bags back in the freezer.
