Recycle Food Waste at Home: Transform Waste into Treasure | United States

Guilty of wasting your food? Fret not, we all are to some degree. Luckily that’s easy to turn around. So take your scraps that once might have been destined for the trash bin and put them to good use

1. Leftovers can still be full of nutrients. Rinse, dry out, and grind up calcium-rich egg shells. Then sprinkle them around the base of your plant to improve water drainage (and to turn off slugs and snails, if you’ve got an outdoor garden). Similarly, a sprinkle of coffee grounds works well for fertilisation, water retention, and aeration.

2. Save your food before it spoils. Is your garlic sprouting? Chop up the green shoots and sprinkle them over your meal. Your greens are beginning to wilt? Place the stems in water to perk them back up again. If a fruit or veggie’s time really has passed, you can even regrow it, like we’re doing with this avocado seed.

3. You don’t need a garden to master compost. It’s easy to create super rich nourishment for your potted plants in your kitchen or on the balcony. In a plastic, lidded bin, mix together some plain soil, food scraps (no meat or fish, though!), torn newspaper, twigs, straw or other plant waste. Stir it a little each day and you’ve got compost.