WIBU to dump vegetable peelings in woodland?

[chesterberry]

I live in a flat with no garden so no possibility to compost. I hate throwing vegetable peelings etc away so used to save them and take them around to my friend who lived around the corner for her to put on her compost heap, however she has just moved and now lives a half-an-hour walk away so that option isn't really practical any more.

The peelings container in my kitchen is now full and I don't know what to do with them - don't really want to throw them in the bin as they will take ages to bio-degrade in landfill. Would it be unreasonable to take them into the scrub of woodland near my house and start my own compost heap? Peelings are things like broad bean/ pea cases, potato peelings, onion skins, strawberry tops etc - mostly British grown food as I like to keep my air miles down.

I don't want to get done for fly tipping but really want an alternative to my regular bin. Is there anything else I can do with food waste without a garden? I considered indoor composting but my flat gets very hot in summer (thermostat says 30 degrees C right now!) and have an open plan kitchen/living room and thought that would get rather smelly. Is my only option to bin them?

Are you in the UK? The local authorities I know do food waste collection. Could you take it to a neighbouring one if yours doesn't?

I read once food wastes helps landfill to decompost not sure if its true though.

Do you have any allotments near you ? Would a plethera of gardeners like that need more compost making materials ?

Unfortunately my local authority doesn't do food waste collection, think some of the neighbouring ones probably do but I don't know anybody there who would let me use their bin and I don't drive so wouldn't really be possible to do so anyway.

Would make me feel better if food waste does help landfills decompose though :)

YWBU to dump it in woodland. It will smell & attract rodents & make the area unsightly. It's also a hazard to dogs being walked in the area who may guzzle up waste food.

Sorry, but I think you should just suck it up & put it in the bin like everyone else. It will biodegrade eventually in landfill and not sending your personal food waste to landfill is really not going to make a significant impact on landfill.

Talk to people with gardens and see if any of them compost?

Does anyone in your area have chooks? People with chooks always love (free) food scraps. A lot of schools have small gardens and sometimes chooks also, so you could ask there.

Food waste produces methane when it breaks down in landfill, contributing to climate change - sending it to landfill is not in any way like putting it in a compost bin. You could look into getting a micro bokashi compare that would suit your living arrangements and use the compost you produce for windowsill pots.

What about getting a small womery for your kitchen? Looked after properly they wont smell and you can use the liquid it produces on your house plants?

please dont dump it in your woodland, it's a good way to transport plant diseases (and depending on what you put in there invasive plants). It is also illegal.

Can I also caution against a wormery if your flat gets too hot - only cos when I had one temporarily in the house all the worms somehow escaped and I went to the loo in the middle of the night and stepped out into carnage. :(

A micro bokashi sounds fun!

just throw them away. youre in a flat

Depending on the woodland, I would do it. If there's enough space, and no one would see it. Things like onion skin and pea cases are no different from fallen eaves.

OYBBK

clara - they really really are different - they are not native to our woodland (and whilst many other plants are also not native, they are at least naturalised) and can carry viruses etc.
Just think ash dieback - a fungal disease imported from overseas.

some things are poisonous to dogs so do be careful if you do it and lots of dogs are walked there. someone used to leave roast bones out on a monday morning near us. they probably thought that was a good idea. the only result was my dog refusing to come back for an hour until she'd finished it and was then violently sick!

What about getting waste disposal in your sink? I heard that they skim of the floating stuff like food waste and compost it.

If you get a bokashi composter, it doesn't smell. I keep mine in my kitchen and I hate bad smells and really it's odourless. You could then offer it up to someone at your local allotments or on freecycle?

I had a wormery in my old flat and it worked well. Wooden is better than plastic as it won't get too hot. If you make sure the lid's on properly you shouldn't get any escapees!

Wormery is the way to go. Had one for many years when I was a flat dweller. Beautiful compost and gallons of amazing liquid plant food. Don't dump it in the nearby woodland, for all the excellent reasons given by previous posters.