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CNET
20-05-2025
- General
- CNET
No Stink, No Fuss: The Compost Hack Your Nose Will Thank You For
Composting is great for the planet and even better for your garden—but let's be real, it can get pretty smelly. The good news? It doesn't have to. There are plenty of high-tech countertop composters and food scrap processors out there that break down waste in hours while keeping your kitchen smelling clean. We recently tried the Lomi composter and the Mill kitchen bin—both worked well, but they'll set you back a few hundred bucks. The better news? You don't need expensive gadgets to keep food scraps out of the landfill (and out of your nose). There's a super simple, low-cost way to compost without the stink—and you probably already have everything you need. Ready to give it a go? Here's how to start your own compost pile, and the trick to keeping things smell-free indoors: just use your freezer and a basic plastic container, reusable freezer bags, or even some old grocery bags Read more: Starting a Compost Pile? Avoid These 10 Foods and Household Items Freeze your food scraps until you're ready to take them out Bag up your compost and keep it in the freezer for a fresh-smelling kitchen all year. Qwart/Getty Images If you're planning to start a compost pile, or are already composting but can't stand the smell, another way to avoid a smelly kitchen when composting is to toss your food scraps in the freezer until you're ready to take them out to the pile. It's a simple adjustment but one that makes composting much more palatable. To freeze your food scraps, either buy freezer bags and use them repeatedly or dedicate a small plastic container within your freezer to hold scraps. I like using a plastic container so I can run it through the dishwasher after emptying it. Some countertop compost bins promise to reduce odors, but there's only so much they can do. Food52 Freezing your food scraps -- including the smelliest items such as fish skins, spoiled produce and leftovers -- until you can transport them to the outdoor pile will keep your kitchen smelling fresh. A simple plastic storage container is all you need to make composting an odorless affair. Rubbermaid I find this particularly helpful living in an apartment in Brooklyn, where it's harder to make runs down to the compost bin in the front of the building. If you're worried about losing too much space in your freezer, use freezer bags and take your food scraps out to the pile as frequently as you need. You can compost most, but not all food scraps Creating a successful compost routine also requires learning what you can and can't compost. The bulk of kitchen scraps are compostable -- pits, cores, rinds, leftover, meat, dairy and coffee grounds -- but foods with high concentrations of oil and sugar are not ideal to add to the pile. If you're wondering how to start a compost pile, we've devised this handy guide for first-time composters. Automatic food processors such as Mill and Lomi work well to eliminate food odors, but both will cost you more than $500. Mill For more tips on keeping green in the kitchen, read about the proper ways to recycle takeout containers and the best tools for fighting kitchen waste.
CNET
05-05-2025
- General
- CNET
Starting a Compost Pile? Avoid These 10 Foods and Household Items
Not everything can be added to a compost pile. Composting requires a delicate balance of dry brown material and wet, nutrient-rich green. The latter usually consists of kitchen waste but adding the wrong leftover or discarded foods can ruin your carefully curated compost. If you want to compost meat and dairy -- both of which tend to attract pests -- I recommend a countertop food waste processor such as the Mill Bin or Lomi, which dry and grind food down to a dirt-like substance. These countertop contractions don't make compost but they'll make the composting process a whole lot less smelly and gross. You'll also want to learn what foods, plants and household products don't belong in a compost pile. Foods high in oil, sugar or artificial ingredients often don't do well in the bin. Meat and fish can technically be composted but adding them to the heap might be more trouble than its worth (more on that later). Below you'll find a list of foods and household items that shouldn't and should go in your compost pile. Read more: Are Countertop Composters Worth It? I Calculated My Food Waste for a Week to See Amy Kim, CNET/Getty Video What is composting? Composting is a way to help food trash and other organic items decompose into a substance that can be used to alter the composition of soil so that it's more nutritious for plants. To start the composting process, certain bacteria activators are added to the organic material to create heat. The heat causes the organic material to decompose more quickly than it would out in nature. Items that can't be composted Cooking oils Foods high in added fat and oil Cheese, milk and and other dairy items Sugar Candy and other foods containing excess sugar Large amounts of cooked food Highly processed canned and packaged foods Cat litter Dog waste Certain houseplants Most but not all food scraps can go into a compost pile. Johner Images/ Getty Images Items that can be composted Fruit and vegetable scraps Cores, peels and rinds Coffee grounds Grass clippings Leaves Beans and legumes Seeds and nuts Herbs and greens Egg shells Can you compost meat and fish? Countertop food processors such as the Vitamix FoodCycler make mincemeat of kitchen scraps and speed up the decomposition process. Vitamix Some gardeners add fish, meat, bones and dairy products to their compost. This is fine, unless you have a problem with rodents or raccoons. These foods create a strong smell that scavengers can't resist. If you want to compost meat and seafood without the risk of attracting critters, a countertop organic waste processor will grind and dry your scraps so they're akin to dirt and not something that would interest a wild animal. Items you should never put in a compost pile Bacon fat and other greasy items should not be composted. Talisman Outside composting There are two main ways of composting: outside and inside. First, let's take a look at outside composting. A layer of dry material, like leaves, is important to outdoor composting. Alina Bradford/CNET Some gardeners prefer to have a compost pile in their yard. This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a pile layered with grass clippings, food bits, sticks and dead leaves. The pile is started in a sunny area with a layer of twigs and sticks on the ground to help with airflow. Then, moist organic material (like food scraps or grass clippings) is layered with dry material, such as leaves, twigs and sawdust. That dry material is crucial because you don't want the compost to be too damp, which will cause foul odors and attract pests. This type of composting takes some work because the pile will need to be turned (basically mixed up) every week or two using a pitchfork or compost aerator. The benefit is that it's basically free. The only items you need to purchase are a turning tool and some compost activator. Composting is a beautiful thing. Getty Images An easier outdoor solution is a compost tumbler, like the Yimby ($79) or this Miracle-Gro large dual-chamber compost tumbler ($130). Both of these consist of rotating barrels that you throw your yard and food waste into and then spin five to six times every two to three days. The spinning mixes the compost to encourage quick and even decomposition. The same rules about wet and dry material apply; you need to keep the compost well-balanced so that it breaks down correctly. When choosing an outdoor system, also be sure to look for a unit that has many aeration holes to release gasses caused by the food decomposing. A closed container can explode if too much pressure from gasses builds up. Indoor composting High-tech composters, like Whirlpool's Zera, can turn food scraps into compost in a matter of hours. Chris Monroe/CNET Indoor composting is almost foolproof with high-tech compost bins, like the Zera or the Food Cycler Platinum. With this type of unit, you just drop in the food scraps and compost activator. The unit uses heat and pressure to turn the scraps into fertilizer, usually within three to 24 hours. Some units can produce about two pounds of fertilizer for eight pounds of food waste. OK, I have decomposed compost, now what? Once the food items are decomposed, it will look almost like woody dirt. You can sprinkle small amounts in house plants or till large amounts into a garden plot. You can also sprinkle it on your lawn or trees to make them healthier. When you've exhausted your finished compost, you can continue the process by adding food scraps and yard waste to your pile or compost bin. A well-cared-for compost pile can give you compost for years to come.
