I use a pottery cookie jar that sits on the counter.

that is it in the back although ow that I am finished it sits on the side.
i use a compostable plastic bag in it to catch the stuff.
goes in the dish washer to clean

easy access, looks nice

you can get similar 'official compost pails' but why pay those extra $$$$$$ ?

I couldn't come up with a good solution when planning our kitchen. I thought I would be prepping veggies near our trash pull out and the best I could come up with was lining the drawer above the trash with stainless steel and having some sort of cover--that way it would be easy to slide things off the counter into the drawer. Once we got our cabinets in it didn't seem practical since the drawers are inset and quite shallow. Someone else on this site has successfully done it using restaurant serving trays (hope that's the name) and it looks great and the owner loves it. I should know the name well but it's escaping me now, hopefully someone else can link to the compost drawer.

A friend had a set up like you link to and they for some reason stopped using it after a year or so (this was over 20 years ago). I never knew why but since they had a big useless hole in their counter I quickly dismissed the idea when considering options. Some have posted here that they have that sort of thing and love it. It's a good thing we didn't go that direction because I don't prep veggies in the location I thought I would when the plan was on paper. Instead of using the perimeter counter between the fridge and prep sink, I prefer prepping at the peninsula and using the big sink across from it.

So we ended up with a compost container on our counter for the first 4+ years after our remodel--just like the 20 years before the remodel. Last fall/winter we put in a trash that pivots out with the under sink cabinet door--the cover automatically lifts off. I like it a lot. The first one we put in had flimsy hardware and the receptacle kept detaching from the piece that holds it to the door. We upgraded to something sturdier. The inner pail lifts out for easy dumping.

{{!gwi}}

This was the first can we tried. I'll use it in the upstairs bathroom but at least we found that we liked the set up enough to invest a little more money into the upgrade (both are rev-a-shelf.)

{{!gwi}}

There was a thread not too long ago on this subject, I've linked it below.

For our new kitchen, about two years away, I'm toying with a "homemade" but much cheaper version of the Blanco Solon, involving a cut out in the Ikea butcher block that will probably be in our island, and under the counter a large Cambro Camsquare container or a Vollrath SS round container with lid. Right now I have a large opaque square plastic container with lid on the counter and we don't mind it; we call it the "chicken pail" because it's all the scraps for our flock...

Becky

Here is a link that might be useful: previous Compost Bin thread

Thanks for posting the previous thread link. It somehow did not come up in my search. I really like the concept of compostable liners.. Did not even know such a thing existing but that would be useful to get the green goodies from collection pail to the compost without leaving icky goopy stuff on the bottom. This ick factor is what my DH does't like. Homemade cheaper version sounds like a plan.. I will look into that.

I am not sure the drawer idea is feasible for us.. Looks cool though.

Lalitha

I have planned the drawer next to my meat/veg chopping board to hold a stainless steel long, shallow food service serving vessel (like for a buffet) which is centered under the edge of the board. I can sweep the cuttings right down into it. Once I'm done chopping, I empty it under sink into an Ikea bin. I plan to put the bin on a slide-out once I get organized. There will be one of these under each sink. (I got the bins at Ikea on closeout sale; they have taller ones now. These have a separate lid and a pair of handles. Gray.)

I like the idea of the countersunk (pun intended) compost bucket, but it does interfere with the counterspace. I'd be washing around it all the time to be sure that the counter is really clean. Some of the things I compost are not very sanitary--tomatoes with blossom end rot, for example.

florantha, I'm so accustomed to using a cutting board -- from which I dump trimmings into our "chicken pail" -- that I don't think I'd ever cut directly on the butcher-block topped island we're planning for our new kitchen; I'm 46 and my mother and grandmother started me with cutting boards about 40 years ago, a habit that would be pretty hard to break.

So for anyone else so inclined, cleanliness and hygiene shouldn't be a problem. And I'm planning an island large enough that it shouldn't interfere with counter space; there will be so much more than what I'm used to now!

Even tho people used composts for like - EVER, its a concept new to me because we always had a garbage disposal. A friend of mine recently started using a compost and I am intrigued. My first question is - doesn't it attract gnats?? (fruit flies whatever you call them) If I have a banana or a tomato out that is just the tiniest bit too ripe - whoa! this time of the year is the worst! So - are these things so airtight that it doesn't attract any of those tiny flying things?

sorry for such a dumb question :)

Oye, my garbage disposer sink Is my compost bin. The disposer sink drains into an outside compost box dug into the ground, where millions of worms live. Once a year we uncover, remove and spread soil in our garden and start all over. The buried compost box has lots of holes for leaching into the ground.

I'm sure it isn't code but this was the set up when we moved here and it's worked well for us for the past 20 years. The dishwasher drains into our septic.

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/kitchen-compost-bin-with-filter-lid?id=176&sku=15772&utm_medium=gan&utm_source=gan

This is what I use. I have two of these under my sink which is a pull out. I have them on the counter top when I am prepping. When I am done cleaning up, the buckets go under the sink, out of sight.

I line them with biodegradable compostable bags. They sell them at Costco at a reasonable price. I stopped buying garbage bags since I am really trying to practice reduce/reuse/recycle concept. I am using bags from groceries to line my garbage bags, which is what we did growing up. I ask for paper bags. Yes, it can get wet at times but we do not have much wet garbage since most wet stuff goes into the compost. We take out the compost nearly everyday. Our summers are not that hot here in the pacific NW. We have food waste pick up so I put in what i do not put into our own backyard compost in there.

Back yard compost: peelings from raw fruits and vegetables only.
City pick up: any food waste including meats, dairy, bread etc. Food contaminated paper products such as pizza boxes

The key to not attracting bugs is that the lid has to be tight. There is also a filter for smell. Over time, the comopst bin lid gets worn and bugs can get in them. You need to get new compost bins then...

The stainless system that you make a hole on the countertop only works if the lid is very tight and bugs cannot get into it AND you take out the compost everyday.

mountaineergirl, I use a large Tupperware/Rubbermaid-type plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Everything goes out every morning and every evening when we feed the chickens and gather the eggs -- we have a farm -- and the container (I have three I rotate, so one is usually on the counter, one in the cupboard, and one out being emptied) is rinsed at the pump outside and then washed as soon as it gets back in the house.

I have a smaller container that fits inside the larger one, and that one gets meat scraps and leftovers for our dog and cats...

And for what it's worth, we live in Alberta, Canada, six hours north of the US border, so it's fairly cool most of the year. This time of year though, with cases of peaches and and such from BC ready for canning, we do get some fruit flies. Those containers are harder to cover!

Another one who uses a big Tupperware type container (the type you can fit 5lbs of flour in) with a tight fitting lid. It lives under the sink, on the other side of the pull-out trash.
I've never had fruit flies with the tight fitting lid. It's only smelly if I forget to empty it for a couple of days, but it's only smelly if you take the lid off . . .

I rinse it thoroughly between 'fills'. I also throw it in the dishwasher now and then, if there's room.

Congratulations on joining the wonderful world of composting.

Thanks for all the ideas. The tupperware thing and the small pedal trash can is what I have done before but DH did not like the ick factor on the counters. But I agree it works! I just want to get aesthetics of kitchen compost scrap collection a non-issue for composting :) My bigger battle will be what kind of composter we set up and where. The local city gives out biostack but that kind of took ages because of the temperate weather in Nor cal and there was the rat issue. I am considering a small tumbler with a collection set up near by (pallet/ wire cage) so that we can get finished compost faster. I haven't lived in this house yet to see what my collection of greens and browns is going to be to see if this is feasible. The idea of a mini electric kitchen composter came up and I killed it :) I like the idea of worm bin or a la di dah " Chalet" but again, it cannot be in the house or garage. I am not sure I can leave it outdoors in bay area in shade and if this would also be a rodent magnet. Oh the lengths we go to for good earth!

The compost crock and the pails look nice.

lalitha, if you have the Tupperware-type container, what about moving it off the countertop, down to the first drawer nearest wherever you do your prep work? Then it would spend most of its time tucked away, out of sight...