Is there anything I can do with old food?

Question

I have been recycling lately and have very little trash now, it is almost all kitchen leftovers and kitty litter. I was wondering if there was anything I could do with either? I live in an apartment, so I am not sure if composting is an option? I do have a small deck but thats it.

For those who think I am going overboard with my recycling;

Regardless of anything else, getting rid of my trash is a pain. The recycling bin is close to my apartment, the trash, however, is annoyingly out of the way. The less I have to go to the dumpster, the happier I'll be.

Answer 1

yes, you can compost in a bucket on a small deck and use the dirt for a little herb garden inside or outside.

Answer 2

Mr tool555 has some pretty lame advice there in my opinion.
He's also misguided about it being totally benign- food waste often decomposes and releases concentrated methane gas in landfills as well, sometimes with explosive results if it hasn't been designed for. In other cases it is entombed and doesn't decompose, like the 50 yr old newspapers that have been unearthed from landfills and represents wasted nutrients that could go back into the soil.


I think it's perfectly fine that you're thinking responsibly about what to do with your waste and have done such a commendable job with the recycling.
I'm in the same boat with the food scraps and kitty litter and also live in an apartment.

Some of the groundfloor people at my complex do have extensive gardens though and are forming a coop compost pile so that might be an option for you as well, at least for the food. Unless you're using pine, paper, or corn based litters, it is probably best not to try to compost i've heard. Also, the kitty poop has got to go elsewhere. If this were China, might be different!

Having a small bucket on your balcony would work too, esp. if you have seasonal container gardens or have friends who garden. Worm composting would be good if it's not too cold there.

Some communities have a green waste collection for households and you might be able to pass it on to a friend or make a new one for this purpose.

Answer 3

I think may be going a bit too far with your recycling addiction.

Both kitty litter and food are highly bio-degradable items that are not particularly harmful to the earth and therefore need not be "recycled". It doesn't matter if they end up in a landfill because they will not create problems in a landfill like a TV or a car or a tin can would.

On the other hand, you do need to put them in a plastic garbage bag if you want to set it out for the trash man, but not only are trash bags made to be enviro-friendly as much as possible these days, but you can't win 'em all. Besides, the earth isn't going to blow up because people are using plastic trash bags to throw their bio-degadables out.

Also, please don't forget to do your own research before you go worrying about the sky falling. Global warming and this whole recycling frenzy are out of hand and are designed to push political agendas, not really to save the earth. Don't believe what you hear just because it "sounds" true or because it "sounds" like something you would subscribe to, do your own research. You'll find that Global Warming and all that jazz is mostly a religion as well as a business and not really the pressing issue it is made out to be.

At any rate, I say go with thor's suggestion and rather than worry about what to do with old food, perhaps you should not let it get "old" in the first place. And as far as the kittly litter, well, cats are not a necessity in life so you may want to consider getting rid of them (although that would not really solve the issue of getting rid of the kitty litter since someone else would have to worry about it - but at least it would stop you from worrying what YOU are going to do with the kitty litter).

Answer 4

i will gave you some courage
in Greece i transfer to a bus my rubbish for recycling until to find the right place to put these.
there are enough boxes for recycling but not closer to my house.

Answer 5

stuff like fruits and vegies can be tossed under your trees to make a compost heap. it works great. And Kitty litter can clean up oil spills

Answer 6

hmm.... throw it away somone will come once a week and take it to a trash site...lol

I honestly don't know what to do in your situation to be realistic and environmental friendly at the same time, maybe stop worrying about it until you are somewhere you could do more.

Answer 7

hi ive starting recycling also but what i do with old food is get it all together and feed it to the foxes as i live in a area surrounded by grassland and trees, and there are many foxes in this area teresa

Answer 8

Not that I can think of, but I wouldn't feel too bad about it, it will decompose nicely.

Answer 9

Place in a blender with ice.

Kittie Smoothie!

Answer 10

I think dogs eat both! LOL
And they will turn it into manure for ya!