Composting kitchen scraps is a great way to cut down on your weekly trash. Compost needs green and brown organic materials in order to break down properly. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants and is created when green materials are broken down in compost. Brown materials provide carbon.

Some people shy away from using a compost container in the kitchen. They think it will be smelly and dirty and the process sounds like a messy hassle. Really, it isn’t at all if you do it right. Using a compost kitchen container is very easy and becomes second nature after a very short time.

Simply emptying your container into the compost pile each day and washing it with soapy water will easily eliminate odor. Using a container with a tight fitting lid will also prevent odor and keep fruit flys at a minimum.

Fill your compost container with any sort of organic kitchen scraps, but do not put meat, bones, fats or dairy products into it. These types of material need special composting or they will cause odors as well as attract animals to your outdoor composter. Here are a few examples of things to put in your kitchen composter:

• Coffee grounds (even the paper filter)
• Eggshells
• Fruit and vegetable peels
• Tea bags
• Seeds from fruits and vegetables

(Source: Green Living)

Related Links:
www.earth911.org
www.composting101.com
www.jgpress.com