How do I keep my yard scrap cart from getting gunked up by my kitchen scraps?

December 20, 2010 7:30 PM

RecologyFillter: Those of you Bay Area residents who've received the Recology yard scrap and recycling carts, how do you manage your kitchen scraps in a way that doesn't muck up the inside of the cart too badly and create a stinky mess?

We just got our Recology carts and I'm excited to be able to start sending my kitchen scraps to compost. BUT, does anyone have a good system for managing those scraps so that the cart doesn't get too messy and smelly?

For example, I have a bunch of rotten spinach I want to throw out. I can't put it directly into the cart; imagine the stink and gunk that will build up on the inside. And if I collect it in a plastic bag along with other kitchen scraps, then throw that into the cart, doesn't that defeat the purpose? My husband suggested putting the scraps into a paper bag and then putting that into the cart, but I don't know, the rotted spinach will just seep through the bag and still create a stinky mess.

Anyone have any creative ideas for managing this? I'm looking for not only ways to collect the waste in the kitchen, but also ways to keep the scraps from mucking up the inside of the cart. Thanks in advance, MeFites!

posted by choochoo to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

As much as possible, I try to only take compost down to the bin the night before garbage day. I keep compost in big yogurt tubs, which have lids. Dry compost goes into a paper grocery bag and carried down whenever. When I empty the yogurt containers, the contents go into a milk carton (if we have an empty one around) or into a paper bag, and then into the bin.

But there's only so much you can do. Once every couple of weeks or so, one of the folks in our building sprays it out with the hose and it stays fairly stink-free.

And yeah, you can't put plastic in the compost bin. There are compost bags, made with some sort of corn-based material, but it doesn't hold wet things well for very long.
posted by rtha at 7:49 PM on December 20, 2010

We have the same thing in Toronto. In our house we keep a small bucket lined with a plastic bag in the freezer to hold scraps until garbage day. Generally meat and such goes into it before it has a chance to go bad. Rotten veggies don't smell once frozen. We turn the bag out into the bucket. For dog waste we use (purportedly) bio-degradable bags.

But really you just need to accept that it'll get grungy and rinse it out every so often.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:49 PM on December 20, 2010

What bonobo said. The container gets stinky (when the lid's open) and that's OK. Think of it as the composting getting a head start. Every once in a while, you can hose the thing out if it bothers you.
posted by zippy at 7:53 PM on December 20, 2010

...I should add that the bulk of our vegetable scraps just go into the "cart" without much problem. It's just the meat, fish and cheese scraps that get frozen. Also, very wet stuff that's gone bad.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:54 PM on December 20, 2010

My upstairs neighbor (small apartment building) washes the compost bin every week, directly after pickup. He's fastidious like that, and I benefit from it.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:03 PM on December 20, 2010

I use empty milk cartons and/or doubled paper bags. Those can go right into the compost bin. Every so often it gets a rinse.
posted by trip and a half at 8:08 PM on December 20, 2010

We use doubled-up paper bags for coffee grounds, tea bags, and bits of cabbage stalks and other organic material. It doesn't get too wet in there.
posted by vickyverky at 8:34 PM on December 20, 2010

Best answer: Where I am, food recycling is done with a small bucket (called a 'kitchen caddy' in the promotional literature) kept in the kitchen and a larger bucket which the smaller bucket can be emptied into. Both have lids.

You can purchase biodegradable bin liners which you can use to line your small bucket, then when full or smelly you tie them off and pop them in the larger bucket.
posted by Mike1024 at 12:32 AM on December 21, 2010

I use the biodegradable bags mentioned above. They sell them in most grocery stores in San Francisco and I'm sure they are headed south as well. Larger loads go in paper bags. As long as you are reasonably careful when you toss the bags into the green cart, nothing really gets very dirty at all.
posted by zachlipton at 1:25 AM on December 21, 2010

Response by poster: zippy, your point is well taken about the head start on the degradation process. That's a great way to think about it. I like the idea of the biodegradable bags, i'll look for them. Thanks, everyone, for all your great answers! Either with or without the bags, I'll be emotionally prepared to accept teh stink now....
posted by choochoo at 12:28 PM on December 21, 2010

Yeah, when my SF apartment building first got compost bins, each unit got a little bucket and a starter box of biodegradable bags.

Tip: when you're buying the bags in the grocery story, check the size. There are little ones (I think they're 3 gallon) for the little buckets and larger ones for larger containers.
posted by kristi at 2:51 PM on December 23, 2010

As a backyard composter I have to say that biodegradable bags are not worth it. Two years later the biodegradable bags I bought for compost are still in my compost bins and have only broken down about 50%. I suspect ordinary supermarket bags would break down just ask fast.

If you are willing to invest some money look into Bokashi. Also you can supposedly make your own bokashi pellets.
posted by srboisvert at 12:43 PM on December 26, 2010