Decomposing the Core of Composting Fruit and Veggies

With the rise of all things eco-friendly producing product much faster than the actual composting process itself, it may be just as helpful to take a step back for a moment. Composting, the process of using a container, pile or bin to make food into fertilizer through a natural bacteria breakdown, is as wide ranging in tips and suggestions as recycling. From sustainable clothing to food, one subcategory is worth exploring further, as it is often overlooked: fruits and vegetables.

From what constitutes compostable fruit and vegetables to what to do with the different parts of the matter (seeds, peelings, cords, etc.), defining this “green/wet” part of a compost is vital; throwing a few of these items in the compost keeps moisture intact, along with “brown/dry” weeds thrown into the mix.

As far as fruits go, most kitchen fare is usable, making it affordable. In an extensive composting guide, vegweb.com composed a list that includes fruits and vegetables in the “kitchen wastes” category. Placing fruits and vegetables as part of recommended kitchen wastes, it still gives a word of caution: They can make the pile too moist if care isn’t taken to balance it out.

“They (fruits and vegetables) tend to be high in nitrogen (this puts them in the ‘greens’ category), and are usually quite soft and moist,” the article says, and advises, “as such, kitchen wastes need to be mixed in with drier/bulkier materials to allow complete air penetration.”

Cores, rotten fruits and, yes, even their seeds are OK to compost, but when it comes to seeds, the options for using them in other ways are endless, according to an article by author Lou Bendrick on grist.org.

Taking a light-hearted approach on seed disposal, the article goes so far as to suggest that the reader learn to spit his or her seeds at people the correct way.

On a more serious note, there is too much food filling up landfills, and it needs to be reduced, according to a statistic by wcpn.org.

The EPA estimates that nearly 12% of U.S. landfills are made up of food waste, according to the article. Reasons for throwing away food range from laziness to something equally as obvious to make a point against composting fruits and vegetables: it can smell really bad if not kept up. The science behind that is explained by a powerful gas.

“Food waste, that is, garbage… produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change,” the article advises.

As far as remedies, one of the best ways to keep food from filling up landfills and generating methane is, they emphasize, the good ole’ composting method.

So, which method is right for you? When it comes to fruits and vegetables, the advantage of having a small kitchen compost bucket to make small amounts of fertilizer may be something to consider. Does it seem like a big leap to suddenly have a chemical process going on in the house? You aren’t alone. A JournalLive blogger in the U.K. talked about a contest that made Gary Beckwith reluctantly try it — at first. But, after a few weeks, Beckwith changed his tune about the process.

“The wormery is great and nowhere near as disgusting as I was expecting,” Beckwith wrote. “It’s almost completely eliminated our food waste.”

To see Beckwith’s full account of composting kitchen waste, see his entries.

Who knew that the process of composting fruits and veggies makes for good stories, too? But reader beware; the time spent reading the engaging accounts may make a mess out of any to-do list that day. What all of the literature amounts to is awareness, the key step to action. So, what to do? According to the article, it is simple: literally dig a hole.