Our country cousins, like most farm folk, were far ahead of the rest of us when it came to sustainable food sources and recycling. In the 60s and 70s, they grew their own vegetables, raised livestock and had a “compost heap” for perishable waste.
But we do have a composter. In London, I (foolishly!) bought a fancy-pants one that looked like R2D2 and came with a million instructions. Rule number one: never put soil inside. As a result, the inner goop turned into a disgusting soup and attracted flies.
Frankly, the best idea of all is having less waste to compost. Not that I’m suggesting we start eating those awful leaf-stalks on the outside of cauliflower. But a new study by Western University researchers finds that London homes waste $600 worth of food per year on average. Multiply that up or down for cities and towns of populations bigger and smaller and that’s a lot of thrown-out food. I try to manage our kitchen like a boss but I know I could do better. Probably most of us could.
The composter left for us here is run-of-the-mill, tried and proven plastic thing and I’m grateful for that. I know how to use it and I’ll make sure it gets a good workout. There’s no green bin program in this area so it’s up to us to try to reduce our waste. Really, it’s just my Aunt Wanda’s compost heap, but inside a container. She was way ahead of her time and I think I ought to finally try to catch up. And I welcome your composting advice!