Composting In Your Kitchen – 3 Easy Ways – According to Lilu

Why Compost?

Most people know that composting is a great way to reduce waste and be more environmentally friendly in their daily lives, but composting in your kitchen can feel like a daunting task without the right equipment and information.
Composting is a great idea for a multitude of reasons. If everyone composted, it could reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills and ininerators in the U.S. by 30% or more. Food waste in landfills also generates excess greenhouse gases, worsening climate change. Compost also enhances the health of our soil, creating a symbiotic relationship between us and the Earth. It brings us food, we bring it compost!
Composting is becoming ever easier, any many cities, including Minneapolis, have introduced compost pickup. Whether you live in a compost-friendly city or not, you can easily introduce composting to your kitchen. This week, we've put together a guide to compost bins and strategies for you to use. Keep reading to up your sustainability game.

Pull-Out Composting

Having a compost pull-out is very convenient. Similarly to the ever-popular trash pull-out, a compost pull-out can live many places in your kitchen, but near your prep area is the best spot. While you prep meals, you'll create food scraps, and they can easily go right into the compost!
There are many ways to pull this off. If you have one sink, the pull-out compost might live very happily underneath it. If you have a prep sink, it could serve as an ultra-easy way to dispose of fruits and veggies as you wash them and cut off scraps. You could also use a combination trash and compost at your main sink, and a compost-only insert by a prep sink if your kitchen provides both!
Don't worry too much about smells or fruit flies, as compost bins are designed to seal tight and trap odors. A pull-out compost can also hold a significant amount of compost, which is great for convenience's sake.

Built-In Composting

A built-in compost is a system that's cut into your countertop, so you can simply throw food scraps into the compost right from the counter. This is a more permanent option than the pull-out, but it is super easy and smooth.
The Solon Organic Waste System is as beautiful as it is functional. It seamlessly integrates with your counter on the outside, as if it isn't even there. It holds almost two gallons of compost and can be installed in pretty much any space.
If you think it can't get any more convenient, you're wrong. The built-in compost bin also has a hinged handle, allowing you to easily lift it out from the countertop, empty it into your garden or city collection bin, and throw it into the dishwasher for reuse.

Under Sink or On Counter Compoosoting

If you aren't remodeling or ready to redesign but still want to find a way to integrate composting into your kitchen, a less permanent solution might do the trick.
You might consider stashing your compost bin below your sink, or even on the counter!
The Epicia Indoor Compost Bin works perfectly for either of these storage options, and there are many reasons to say yes. The bin includes an airtight lid and replaceable, activated charcoal filter, so there is no smell to deal with no matter where you store it.
Although it may slightly cut down on your counter space, the sleek modern design of many compost bins will never take away from your kitchen decor. This option holds about a gallon of compost. Meaning its big enough to hold several days worth of food waste, but its also small enough to fit anywhere you want to put it!

How Composting is More Sustainable

Composting can be so easy, and we are so excited to see it becoming more common. In case you aren't yet convinced, here are some reasons why composting is more sustainable.
For one thing, composting reduces waste, makes us less dependent on landfills, and decreases greenhouse gas emissions. When used to be added to soil, compost strengthens our soil and promotes healthy plant growth by recycling essential nutrients back into the soil. Because of that, it reduces the need for pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in the soil. Composting truly promotes a prolific soil ecosystem, which is important not only for the planet but for us and all the other organisms inhabiting it.
We hope you'll give it a try using one of these 3 easy ways.