While being an active participant in taking care of the planet is a significant responsibility that involves everyone, it can be difficult when faced with nasty inserts and offensive odours that composting can attract. However, both pests and odours are easily managed with these three easy methods of maintaining your green bin and kitchen catcher.
Commitment to Living Green
Compost is one of nature’s natural mulches and soil fertilizers. If you are an avid gardener, you know the impact that the rich, dark earth that is created when organic materials are composted can have on the health of your lawn and garden. Whether you decide to use a green bin or compost on your own, understanding the importance of compost should be a priority as the volume of organics entering landfills continues to grow.
According to Manitoba Co-Operator, few of the many benefits of compost are:
- Compost means a reduction in garbage volume
- A fertile, natural fertilizer cuts back on the use of chemical fertilizers
- Compost improves soil aeration and drainage
- Compost helps control weeds
- Compost decreases the need for costly watering
Tips and Tricks of Eliminating Odour
- Prepare your kitchen catcher and curbside green bin
The key to eliminating offensive odours from your curbside organics/green bin is knowing how to prepare your waste deposit sites (i.e., your kitchen catch and green bin). The first thing you need to know is how to define your tools:
- Kitchen catcher: A small, preferably covered, canister to dispose of kitchen waste during the week. There are all kinds of products available on the market for closed cartridges and biodegradable bag options. One idea for an excellent ‘catcher’ is the Green Lid Compostable Starter Pack which can be purchased at most large retail or garden centre facilities.
- Curbside green bin: A large green bin purchased from your local constituency for curbside use.
- Eliminating odour
Once you have your compost containers, the first thing you should do is line them. Begin with the kitchen catcher. It is recommended that you use newsprint or flyers for this task because they will absorb any liquid leaks and using these materials is a great way to reuse these items you might otherwise throw away. Remember: keeping your bin clean is the first step to keep odours out! Here are some tips on creating your perfect bin liner:
- Step one: Stack two to four sheets of newsprint
- Step two: Fold them in half to make a triangle and remove excess paper
- Step three: Take point A and fold it across the triangle and then do the same with point B
- Step four: Orientate the triangle with the folded in corners so that when the folded edges are facing you, the final point is facing up away from you.
- Step five: Once orientated, fold half the sheets of paper from the top point down over the folds and then fold the rest to the back so that you have made a shape that looks like a boat.
- Step six: Open the boat into a basket and place it inside your kitchen catcher.
- Step seven: Enjoy your leak free kitchen catcher experience!
- Next, you need to line the bottom of your green bin by merely laying down a few sheets of newsprint along the bottom.
- The last thing you need to do when putting food into your container is to line each layer with a bit of paper. Doing so will definitely block any loose odours and stop fruit flies from sprouting in your kitchen.
- Another thing you can do is spray your bin with Effective Microorganisms (EM), which contain live microbes that produce a healthier microbial environment in your bin. These microbes will help keep bad smells at bay.
- Caring for your green bin
If you are going to use a curbside green bin, you have to care for it so it doesn’t stink, animals don’t get into it, and people don’t start using it as a regular garbage can. Some tips for caring for your bin include:
- Get biodegradable bags. Don’t waste your energy composting incorrectly. Just like you buy recycling bags, you need to have the proper equipment so you aren’t hindering the process for those who will be collecting the contents of your bin.
- Make sure to keep your bin in a secured area with the lid firmly shut and latched so that unwanted critters don’t go looking in your container for their next meal.
- Instead of purchasing harmful chemicals to wash your bin, try a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar in a spray bottle or baking soda and dish soap for the really tough stains.
- Consider composting using alternative methods
- If you have a backyard, it is highly recommended that you compost in your garden as opposed to using a curbside bin. Many people compost incorrectly and even if you do compost, it doesn’t mean that your attempts at using a green bin will be successful – even if you do it properly, your organic waste could unfortunately still end up in a landfill. The good news is that there are an endless amount of resources available online to help you get started and you be shocked at how much waste you can take out of your trash and turn into nourishing food for your lawn and garden.
For more information on how to keep curbside organics/green bins free of flies and odours, contact Red Bins at 416-733-2467 today!
