Compost scrap storage for new kitchen?

last year

last modified: last year

Working on a new home build, and finalizing kitchen layout.

Our initial design had two waste bin pullouts, one that would be for a single larger trash can, and the other that would be two smaller bins for recycling. Was thinking one of the recycling bins would be for glass and plastic, and the other for compostable material (brown boxes and appropriate food scraps).

We're city dwellers moving out to the 'burbs, so don't know too much about composting at this point.

Since it'll only be two of us in this house, even though we cook almost every day, I imagine it would take awhile to fill the compost section if we did the full size bin, so it would become stinky and fruit fly heaven.

Would the smarter move be to just use a countertop or under sink compost scrap bin, that we more frequently take out to the heap? Or is there some sort of slick built-in compost bin I'm missing?

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stm25rs
Original Author

last year

This will be for composting on our lot. We have tons of houseplants and are looking forward to having a yard where we can do some gardening.

We'll have a walk-in/butler pantry, so composting "browns" could be stashed in a bin in there, out of sight.

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Mary Iverson
last year
last modified: last year
Will this be for community composting, or something on your lot? (Some communities provide a composting container.)

If this is for your own composter it makes sense to keep 'perishable' food scraps in a separate lidded container from paper and 'storable' paper etc. This could be on the counter or under the sink.

Kudos to you for planning a green kitchen!
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Lisa
last year
We use a medium/large ikea container with lid for compost/chicken scraps. its small enough to fit in a drawer when needed but we use it all the time and usually just have it on the counter

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ikea-365-food-container-with-lid-rectangular-glass-plastic-s19276777/#content
lharpie
last year
We use one of the stainless containers with a filter on top. works well. thats what most people by me do. you could do small bin with a lid in a pull out if you have room. it’s a bit annoying to have on countertop all the time.
old_dirt 6a
last year
This is what we use under the sink. Empty it every week or less.
sheloveslayouts
last year
last modified: last year
My mother in law is a gardener and vegetarian - compost is one of her greatest loves. She has a plug in appliance that composts her food scraps for the garden. its pretty neat. no smell, no ick, no fruit flies, etc etc. She has some mobility issues so its nice that it reduces the frequency with which she has to take scraps out. If i had a composter id look into dedicating an electrical outlet for it in the sink cabinet.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
last modified: last year
You don’t want to keep more than a gallon or so of scraps in the kitchen. Just empty your pot into the outdoor bin every day or two. You can get good looking containers for a tiny fraction of an electric gizmo, which would be too small anyway for anything other than small amounts of waste.
sheloveslayouts
last year
I asked and MIL said she recommends her Vitamix Food Scrapper. i didn't realize how expensive it was—- you gotta be pretty serious about compost to invest in one of those!
stm25rs
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone!

This made the decision to eliminate the current 3 waste bin kitchen layout easy. Will be keeping the 2-bin setup for trash/recycling, and doing a different configuration for what's currently a single bin, so frees up space for other kitchen items.

I do like gadgets, so can see myself eventually getting something like that Vitamix, but I think for starters we'll just do a small bucket with lid under the sink
Iri
last year
Bucket is good. Pizza boxes have to be taken out to the heap as they're emptied, though.
annpat
last year
Free containers---especially ones already trash bound---are my favorite, but pretty is nice, too. Your fruitflies depend on large, infrequently emptied, compost containers. I agree with Flora. You don't want to have more than a gallon of scraps at a time in your house. While I can see someone with physical limitations using an expensive, energy using, plastic gadget for producing something that can be produced naturally outdoors, I can't see a serious composter with acreage being able to keep up using one.

May I recommend an outdoor compost bin for you as a housewarming gift before you start seeing all the fancy cedar ones available? I love my hardware cloth (Hardware cloth is a stiff wire mesh, much stiffer than chicken wire.) freestanding, bottomless, stake-free compost cylinders. If you decide to be a compost flipper, they're lovely for that, but they're also very easy to harvest from if you're a cold composter.

I can't wait to get my hands on you.
stm25rs
Original Author
last year
The actual composting will be done outside, and we're quite far from figuring that part out - we'll be breaking ground on the construction in a few weeks. Might do an outdoor bin, or build a wood frame for the heaps on our side yard.

This question was more specifically just about the kitchen scrap collection aspect.
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HALLETT & Co.
last year
We’ve had a stainless steel canister from Walmart with a silicone gasket for twenty years as our food waste container. Small enough that it can fit in the dishwasher when that’s needed.
Laurel C
last year
I use a 1/3 size hotel pan with a lid for composting. It's nearly the perfect size/shape to be lined with an egg cart that's had the top ripped off and put in the bottom, with the bottom part on top of it. Adds carbon material to the compost (egg cartons tend to be the last stop for paper pulp as far as recycling goes), and absorbs a little liquid. The stainless material is easy to clean and is dishwasher safe/doesn't have any lips that collect coffee grounds and chunks of mold if things sit too long. I saw a bin design online for an absurd price and had my husband build me a "collar" for mine out of stunning cherry to copy it.

https://food52.com/shop/products/709-noaway-countertop-wood-compost-bin

Compost scrap storage for new kitchen?

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