A cheat’s guide to going green at home

Taking responsibility for your organic waste at home can not only reduce the waste you create in your household bin each week that goes to landfill, it also creates a rich resource for your garden and green spaces to grow and thrive in.

 

Two birds, one stone.

 

If you think your space is too limited for composting or keeping a worm farm, have failed in your attempts or the idea of keeping your organic waste to break down naturally is just a little gross to you, it’s time you revisited the options.

“I love my worm farm,” says HB picture editor and keen gardener Helen Petrou. “It’s my little bit of country in the city. I know my plants will get good nutrients and I like the feeling of reducing my waste.”  Helen’s garden thrives on the nutrient-rich juice which she often shares with friends.

Next time you slide your vege scraps off the chopping board and straight into the bin, consider how simple it is to use them for good instead.

1. Bokashi bin

Good for:

• anyone living in a small space or apartment
• anyone grossed out by food scraps

How it works:

• collects scraps at your kitchen bench in a sealed container.
• starts the process of decomposition with the addition of a special bokashi mix and without air, so no need for turning a compost pile.
• bury in the garden, add to a larger compost or deliver to your local nursery or community compost site.

Watch this video to see it in action:

2. Worm farm

Good for:

• faster break-down of food waste
• anyone living in a small space
• homes with a lack of sunshine
• saving money – no ongoing costs

How it works:

• add food waste to stacked trays for worms to process
• add extra trays when full
• drain away nutrient-rich liquid and use on garden

3. Compost bin

Good for:

• people with at least some backyard space
• keen gardeners
• a sunny corner of the garden
• plenty of dry ‘brown’ waste to add to the mix
• bigger families so more organic waste

How it works:

• add food and garden waste to open pile or compost bin
• add 'brown' scraps such as brown leaves, paper or cardboard to avoid it getting too wet
• turn pile regularly (ideally each time you add) to incorporate air to aid breakdown
• after 6-12 weeks take rich organic matter from the base and spread onto garden or dug into soil

What you can compost from your own kitchen waste

Green

Kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, bread, milk, juice, cut flowers, green leaves, grass clippings and green weeds but avoid putting in seeds or runners.

Brown

Brown leaves, dead grass, weeds, paper, cardboard, soil, mulch and sawdust

Never Compost

Chunky meat, cheese, very oily wastes, plastics, weeds, diseased plants, treated sawdust

(left) Tumbleweed 150l Gedye compost bin, $45, Bunnings | (centre) Bokashi One starter pack in Tan, $196, Bokashi One | (right) Tumbleweek Can O Worms, $69.70, Bunnings

You might also like:

6 signs you need to cut down on food waste

Why you’re failing at using eco bags

5 products that will help reduce food waste and save you money!