Let’s be Green in the Kitchen
Composting has been a way of life for as long as I can remember. When your parents are gardeners, the compost pile is a feature element, situated somewhere between the house and the vegetable beds. We are very fortunate in Kings County to have municipal composting so even if you don’t use the results yourself, you can contribute to a natural resource through your green bin.
Obviously, the big green bin is too large to be inside the house and the smaller green bins from Valley Waste are functional but not very decorative. There are choices in kitchen compost containers, and even if your bin has to sit on the counter, we can make that look nice (and functional). Ours sits to the left of the kitchen sink as it is used several times in a day, from dumping coffee grounds to the peelings and scrapings of meal preparation.
RSVP Endurance has two sizes of stainless steel compost pails, a half-gallon and a full gallon, with lids. Inside each lid is a replaceable carbon filter to capture any odors from the pail. The half-gallon is a nice size for 1-2 people, and we find we need to dump ours into the big green bin (winter) or out to the compost pile (spring, summer and fall) every couple of days or so. The stainless steel makes it easy to clean, the handle makes it easy to transport, and the exterior finish blends in with the other stainless pieces in the kitchen.
Good Grips OXO make a nice white compost pail, with a green interior. The compact size takes up very little counter space, the smooth rounded interior is easy to clean, and the pail can go in the dishwasher. There is a convenient handle and the lid comes off to make dumping even easier. While there is no carbon filter, the lid does snap down to lock in odors.
Full Circle has a compost pail with an air filtering design so gases dissipate before building up to a funky smell. These buckets are made from recycled plastic, designed to hold a compost bag (which is also compostable). The bag slides onto a ring that snaps into the bucket. This is a great design for condo dwellers who have to carry their compost to a common green bin. At just under a litre, each bag can hold a lot of peelings. The bags are sold separately so they can be used with a wide variety of countertop compost pails, and there are 25 bags in each package.
And last of all, the fun compost pails from Danica. Made of metal, painted in dots or ‘compost’, these are nice big pails, with a handle and a carbon filter in the lid. Part of the Now Designs collection, a portion of each sale goes toward supporting Education Without Borders. This always feels like a win-win-win, when purchasing something you need, supports a cause, and a local retailer! These pails are hand-wash only, and are a bit big for the dishwasher anyway.
Spring is in the air, green thumbs are ready and it’s almost time to garden. Compost is such an important part of our organic cycle and the green environment. We can help you make it happen with a great new compost pail.
Did you know? Freeze your meat scraps in an empty cereal or cracker box tucked into the side of the freezer. Put the whole box into the green bin on garbage day. Your green bin will smell better and attract fewer critters.