4 ms·

> Compost heaps don't include cooked food A big part of every compost heap my family has ever kept has been the post meal plate scraps that are assuredly cooke

by donatj 3y ago

> Compost heaps don't include cooked food A big part of every compost heap my family has ever kept has been the post meal plate scraps that are assuredly cooked. Probably close to 50% by volume. I am reasonably certain this is usually the case.

AlecSchueler 3y ago
Where I am of you're seeing putting cooked food in compost someone will immediately jump up to stop you. We have municipal composting systems that are very explicit about what can and can't be included. I'm also involved in various community gardening initiatives in my city and some friends of mine did research into the different low level compost heaps in the city. In every case like that that I saw they were very careful about the cooked food rule. I'm sure it varies a lot by geography and culture and I'd be loathe to say there's a general "norm" that would apply to the mileus of most readers here.
- philwelch 3y ago
  You can also just keep your own compost heap in your back yard. (Municipal composting? Sounds like a scam where I separate my garbage and the city just throws everything into the same landfill anyway.)
  - AlecSchueler 3y ago
    I separate my garbage and then the municipality uses the organic waste to create compost. I've visited the site myself and seen it (my ex worked for recycling company). The compost is then used to feed our shared green spaces, parks and flowerbeds, within the city. I do also have a separate compost heap for my building which we use to feed our community garden. This practice of municipal organic waste connection actually dates back centuries. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, the father of the microscope, worked his day job in gathering organic waste in the locality, and some of his early experiments were based on inspecting this waste via magnification. I understand that the trustworthiness of public governance varies from place to place but I can't imagine why a city would spend time and money on a project like this just to throw everything in a landfill.
    - philwelch 3y ago
      A lot of “recycling” ends up in landfills, especially since China stopped accepting it. Some people like separating their garbage because they enjoy the illusion that they’re doing something virtuous, and it’s easier to indulge that fantasy than to actually have multiple waste management streams.
      - AlecSchueler 3y ago
        I'm aware of that, and my municipality also sends some dry recycling abroad. But the green waste we use locally. I've visited the sites and read their annual reports. It makes sense to be critical but there's a certain level of distrust that I wouldn't be personally able to tolerate and still feel happy living here.
        philwelch 3y ago
        If throwing recyclables or yard waste into the landfill was the worst thing your local government did, you’d have a great local government.
        AlecSchueler 3y ago
        I feel that I do have a great local government!
  - da_chicken 3y ago
    The cheapest form of municipal composting typically involves yard waste (grass trimmings, fallen leaves, etc.). That all takes a tremendous amount of landfill space, and it's all somewhat uniform and predictable. It's partly why many suburbs have been doing separate yard waste collection for decades. The reason they don't always want food waste is that it attracts animals that eat food waste (crows, seagulls, raccoons, possums, cockroaches, flies, etc.) and the composting is often done in open-air windrow heaps. Composting also works most efficiently when the ratio of carbon and nitrogen is in balance, and food waste is somewhat different than yard waste. It makes it harder to manage to get good compost quickly.
    - philwelch 3y ago
      Yard waste I get, although IMO you’re a fool if you just give away your own perfectly good yard waste instead of using it to feed your own yard.
      - da_chicken 3y ago
        The output of extra work is only free if your time has no value.
        philwelch 3y ago
        It’s not even extra work in most cases. You can just let your lawnmower spit out your lawn clippings back onto your lawn for instance.
        da_chicken 3y ago
        At least where I've lived (except Arizona where I had no lawn) I've never been able to mulch or leave clippings on the lawn the whole season. Once the grass is actually in growing season, it grows too fast. If the grass is wet, you can't mulch. If you cut twice as often, the thatch doesn't decompose quickly enough. For me it was just more work now so that I could do more work later.
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  Here in the Midwest, municipal composting systems [1] [2] [3] and others are very explicit that you can include cooked foods. > If it grows, it goes! We can accept all food scraps regardless if they are pre or post consumer, cooked, uncooked, spoiled, rotten, or moldy. > Accepted items include fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds/ filters and tea bags, bread and grain products, dairy products, meat and bones, chemical-free paper towel and napkins, and certified compostable products. > Fruit and vegetables, Meat and bones, Bread, Eggshells, All food waste including plate scrapings and uneaten food, Napkins, Paper plates, Compostable cups and cutlery (Greensafe, Ingeo), Coffee grounds with filter > Food scraps (including meat), coffee grounds and filters, compostable ware (such as takeout containers and utensils), napkins, and paper towels are all compostable on campus. Most 'modern' venues and food courts (universities, airports, malls, stadiums, etc - not restaurants and houses) will have three adjacent bins: Black Landfill, Blue Recycling, and Green Biodegradeable. Probably 20% of homes in my neighborhood pay the extra $30/quarter to get an additional 96-gallon (~1.1m x 0.8m x 0.8m) curbside cart for recycling, and maybe 5% have a yard waste and food scraps 'biodegradeable' cart (1% or less have backyard gardens and might do their own composting). [1] https://www.mygreenmi.com/program-education/ https://www.mygreenmi.com/program-education/ [2] https://midtowncomposting.com/product/weekly-residential-food-waste-composting/ https://midtowncomposting.com/product/weekly-residential-foo... [3] https://ocs.umich.edu/programs/waste-reduction/composting/ https://ocs.umich.edu/programs/waste-reduction/composting/

by donatj 3y ago

AlecSchueler 3y ago

Where I am of you're seeing putting cooked food in compost someone will immediately jump up to stop you. We have municipal composting systems that are very explicit about what can and can't be included. I'm also involved in various community gardening initiatives in my city and some friends of mine did research into the different low level compost heaps in the city. In every case like that that I saw they were very careful about the cooked food rule. I'm sure it varies a lot by geography and culture and I'd be loathe to say there's a general "norm" that would apply to the mileus of most readers here.

philwelch 3y ago
You can also just keep your own compost heap in your back yard. (Municipal composting? Sounds like a scam where I separate my garbage and the city just throws everything into the same landfill anyway.)
- AlecSchueler 3y ago
  I separate my garbage and then the municipality uses the organic waste to create compost. I've visited the site myself and seen it (my ex worked for recycling company). The compost is then used to feed our shared green spaces, parks and flowerbeds, within the city. I do also have a separate compost heap for my building which we use to feed our community garden. This practice of municipal organic waste connection actually dates back centuries. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, the father of the microscope, worked his day job in gathering organic waste in the locality, and some of his early experiments were based on inspecting this waste via magnification. I understand that the trustworthiness of public governance varies from place to place but I can't imagine why a city would spend time and money on a project like this just to throw everything in a landfill.
  - philwelch 3y ago
    A lot of “recycling” ends up in landfills, especially since China stopped accepting it. Some people like separating their garbage because they enjoy the illusion that they’re doing something virtuous, and it’s easier to indulge that fantasy than to actually have multiple waste management streams.
    - AlecSchueler 3y ago
      I'm aware of that, and my municipality also sends some dry recycling abroad. But the green waste we use locally. I've visited the sites and read their annual reports. It makes sense to be critical but there's a certain level of distrust that I wouldn't be personally able to tolerate and still feel happy living here.
      - philwelch 3y ago
        If throwing recyclables or yard waste into the landfill was the worst thing your local government did, you’d have a great local government.
        AlecSchueler 3y ago
        I feel that I do have a great local government!
- da_chicken 3y ago
  The cheapest form of municipal composting typically involves yard waste (grass trimmings, fallen leaves, etc.). That all takes a tremendous amount of landfill space, and it's all somewhat uniform and predictable. It's partly why many suburbs have been doing separate yard waste collection for decades. The reason they don't always want food waste is that it attracts animals that eat food waste (crows, seagulls, raccoons, possums, cockroaches, flies, etc.) and the composting is often done in open-air windrow heaps. Composting also works most efficiently when the ratio of carbon and nitrogen is in balance, and food waste is somewhat different than yard waste. It makes it harder to manage to get good compost quickly.
  - philwelch 3y ago
    Yard waste I get, although IMO you’re a fool if you just give away your own perfectly good yard waste instead of using it to feed your own yard.
    - da_chicken 3y ago
      The output of extra work is only free if your time has no value.
      - philwelch 3y ago
        It’s not even extra work in most cases. You can just let your lawnmower spit out your lawn clippings back onto your lawn for instance.
        da_chicken 3y ago
        At least where I've lived (except Arizona where I had no lawn) I've never been able to mulch or leave clippings on the lawn the whole season. Once the grass is actually in growing season, it grows too fast. If the grass is wet, you can't mulch. If you cut twice as often, the thatch doesn't decompose quickly enough. For me it was just more work now so that I could do more work later.
LeifCarrotson 3y ago
Here in the Midwest, municipal composting systems [1] [2] [3] and others are very explicit that you can include cooked foods. > If it grows, it goes! We can accept all food scraps regardless if they are pre or post consumer, cooked, uncooked, spoiled, rotten, or moldy. > Accepted items include fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds/ filters and tea bags, bread and grain products, dairy products, meat and bones, chemical-free paper towel and napkins, and certified compostable products. > Fruit and vegetables, Meat and bones, Bread, Eggshells, All food waste including plate scrapings and uneaten food, Napkins, Paper plates, Compostable cups and cutlery (Greensafe, Ingeo), Coffee grounds with filter > Food scraps (including meat), coffee grounds and filters, compostable ware (such as takeout containers and utensils), napkins, and paper towels are all compostable on campus. Most 'modern' venues and food courts (universities, airports, malls, stadiums, etc - not restaurants and houses) will have three adjacent bins: Black Landfill, Blue Recycling, and Green Biodegradeable. Probably 20% of homes in my neighborhood pay the extra $30/quarter to get an additional 96-gallon (~1.1m x 0.8m x 0.8m) curbside cart for recycling, and maybe 5% have a yard waste and food scraps 'biodegradeable' cart (1% or less have backyard gardens and might do their own composting). [1] https://www.mygreenmi.com/program-education/ https://www.mygreenmi.com/program-education/ [2] https://midtowncomposting.com/product/weekly-residential-food-waste-composting/ https://midtowncomposting.com/product/weekly-residential-foo... [3] https://ocs.umich.edu/programs/waste-reduction/composting/ https://ocs.umich.edu/programs/waste-reduction/composting/