Paper trash (no recycling available in Timbuktu...well, I actually don't know about the really REAL Timbuktu, but 60-some miles from the nearest real facility dampens the enthusiasm for "green-ness.") gets burned. There are two receptacles in the kitchen to separate into burn/no burn and they get used FAIRLY correctly.
All other stuff (plastic and cans and the gigantic potato sprout out of the worm bin that I didn't want them to have to chomp on down) goes to the transfer site. I know, I know...bad. But see up ^ there about the distance to recycling.
Meaty and cheesy food scraps go to the Corgi girls. There aren't many, much to their Royal Hynnies dismay.
Coffee grounds (mmm, coffee) egg shells, potato peels (minus the giant sprouts) onion and garlic skins have a special place right under the kitchen sink in the worm bin. I had so many worms in the tub last summer that I made a new colony on the back porch. Did you know that worms don't like to freeze? Moving on.
All other foodie-type scraps (along with a pumpkin or two as long as they last) go to the backyard and into the chicken yard. There they are converted into egg shells that come back in to feed the wrigglers.
Here are the problems with the current system. 110 gallons of garbage every winter month and double that in the fire season to the transfer site? Isn't there a better way? All the extra worms...not enough to sell but too many to keep inside...and you saw up ^ there what happens to outside worms. The difference between having a few chicken worthy scraps and having a stinky bowl of rotting food on the counter seems to be an issue for us. What do you do?
Okay, paper stuffs burn…ashes on compost :)
ReplyDeleteVeggie leftovers to the chickens.
Egg shells, some veggies not consumed by said chickens to the compost.
Make doggie biscuits out of the veggie scraps too. Good for them :)
Another thing I do with veggie scraps is grind them to a pulp and make "veggie meat". I have started doing that so I can make "Mary-Ann food" :P
I try hard not to buy plastics. And there are only so many things you can do with them. I mean, after all how many plant shelters or bird feeders can we actually use without the yard starting to look like a hoarders paradise?
My biggest issue is leftover cooked foods that end up as science projects in the back of the icebox :P Can't compost, can't feed to anyone or anything. Not sure old moldy pasta is any more biodegradable than plastic, know what I mean?
Still, we are trying to get down to no more than a small bag (if any at all) per week. After all it's just the two of us now!
P.S. We have to pay an arm and a leg for the trash here so I try not to have to do that more often than necessary.