Do you compost?

33 Comments

I had an odd conversation where I had to explain what composting was to a well educated man in his 60s. This trained lawyer had no idea that you could turn plants back into soil. I was shocked. I have always done it because of how I was raised and where I live. But I wonder how common it actually is. So I thought I would ask the micro community of is it normal what their food waste habits were.

I split the options into western and eastern nations to hopefully gain a broader perspective. Thanks!

If you don't like the choices, please feel free to leave a comment.

No - western	8
Yes - eastern	8
Yes - western	11
No - eastern	0

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Comments ( 33 )

TerriAngel

4 years ago

Composting is common sence.
I wouldnt expect a lawyer to get it.

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litelander8

4 years ago

My dad was disgusted with me for just knocking my pumpkins off the porch into the garden beds. We get pumpkins that grow back every year.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  That can create a mess of volunteer plants, and attract wildlife. Disgusted is a bit harsh, annoyed would be somewhat understandable.
  
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  - litelander8
    
    4 years ago
    
    I love my volunteers. I just pull what I don’t want. ☺️
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      4 years ago
      
      Do you have a pumpkin army come Halloween?
      
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      - litelander8
        
        4 years ago
        
        Not really. They’re hard to keep. It has to be the right surface. I had two nice sized ones this past year, but they still needed more time. My buddy went to pick them up and check them out and they snapped off the vine.
        
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        DIO
        
        4 years ago
        
        Hey. I'd like to plant some but my garden isn't big (but it's a decent size). How much seeds should I plant to have 5 or 6 please?
        
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charli.m

4 years ago

I did but I got lazy. I need to be better with it.

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Fugazi,again

4 years ago

Only when im dead

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  I think you are confusing composting with decomposing. One is active, the other passive.
  
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  - Fugazi,again
    
    4 years ago
    
    Booom! One ticket to the burn ward for me please
    
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Boojum

4 years ago

The gaps in the knowledge of educated people can be startling. But even if the lawyer has always lived in the city, I do find it strange that someone could get to be his age without ever encountering the word or concept.

I'm roughly his age, and I grew up in city in the States. The concepts of ecology and organic gardening went mainstream when I was in my early teens, so I've been aware of composting for a very long time. Maybe the lawyer is one of those urban people who's managed to believe for his whole life that milk comes from cartons, fruit and vegetables grow wrapped in plastic and all the rubbish he produces just magically disappears once he tosses it out.

Where we live in the UK, the local council demands that people separate food waste, but what I find weird is that it isn't composted, but instead burned. We have our own compost pile, so the only food waste we throw out is meat scraps, citrus peel and egg shells.

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- Ellenna
  
  4 years ago
  
  Why don't you compost citrus peel and egg shells? There's a myth that citrus is bad for compost but I've been including it in my compost for nearly 50 years with no ill effects, and as for egg shells, they do take a long time to break down but I just crunch them up with my hands when they've dried out a bit.
  
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  - Nikclaire
    
    4 years ago
    
    Citrus can cause combustion on a compost heap so some people avoid it.
    
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    - Ellenna
      
      4 years ago
      
      Combustion? As in fire & flames? I've never heard of that! More info, please.
      
      In my opinion, the "rule" against putting citrus in compost came from it not being appropriate in worm farms, but who knows? All I know is that I stick to fruit & vegie waste, paper (shredded) & doghair with the occasional layer of horse or cow manure and that's how I've done it for many years.
      
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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  To be fair, he did understand it, but he didn't see the value of it. It was something only farmers did in his mind. He was raised urban and with priveledge and doesn't know his way around a hammer, compost was truly a mystery to him.
  
  I am lucky to live where they have city composting programs. All food, including meat, gets thrown in the compost bin. I also include a lot of paper products. Sadly recycling is more complicated than people are aware of and not all paper products are worthy of recycling. However most can go into the compost. Pizza boxes, as an example.
  
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RoseIsabella

4 years ago

No, I don't compost, but I do recycle. I have a rough idea about how composting works.

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ellnell

4 years ago

No im lazy. Maybe one day

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donteatstuffoffthesidewalk

4 years ago

i throw inedible vegetable parts out into the woods by my house

does that count?

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Fugazi,again

4 years ago

I told my friend I needed plant food and he looked confused for a minute before finally asking "but how do they eat it?"

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Mammal-lover

4 years ago

I plan in getting a composting toilet and udeing bio degradable bags once I get an rv and start living in it

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leggs91200

4 years ago

I have a machine that turns food waste into fertilizer.
Sometimes though it drops fertilizer on the sidewalk in the backyard so I sweep it onto the grass.

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jethro

4 years ago

Eastern and western locations are relative to where you actually live. However, I don't compost because I don't garden. If I need compost for any reason, I just get a bag of it at the nursery part of the hardware store.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  Eastern thought, like Asian. Western as in Europe, America, Australia. I get this leaves out Africa and South America but I had hoped that would would be expressed in comments.
  
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Aethylfritha

4 years ago

Nah. Im not an outdoorsy chick😕
Had a compost thingie in the yard when we moved in, gave it to a friend. I dont like gardening except for house plants.

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Ellenna

4 years ago

I not only compost my own fruit & vegie waste but also collect my daughter's to add to it. My mother composted back in the 1940's so it's strange to me that more people don't do it.

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Clunk42

4 years ago

My granparents do, does that count?

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  Only if they compost your personal food waste.
  
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  - Clunk42
    
    4 years ago
    
    So no, then. Got it.
    
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Nikclaire

4 years ago

I assumed Western vs. Eastern nations, if you mean U.S coasts I need to change my answer 🤣

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  4 years ago
  
  Edited
  
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Are You Normal?

Do you compost?