We have a rev-a-self double trash pull out. The bins are stainless steel. One is smaller than the other and that's what we use for the compost bin in our main kitchen. At our garden sink we use a crock. We empty them every couple of days more or less depending on how much is in them. After they get emptied they get washed with hot water and soap. You stated that you have your compost bin by the side of the house. Is it critter proof? We just have an open compost pile by the greenhouse. I've never actually seen critters, but I'd be reluctant to have compost right by my house. It doesn't seem like a good idea. Maybe others can comment.

The ceramic container you received sounds like a nice gift : ) Composting is wonderful.

We used a bin similar to yours (the stainless steel version) for years and years. It was dw safe. We eventually got a second one so that we'd have a clean one while the other waited to be washed. The charcoal filters are great and really cut down on any smell.

How often we emptied it depended on how many scraps we generated. It could sit for days. On days when we had lots of large rinds, corn husks, etc. I would use a stainless steel bowl along with the container and both would go to the compost pile together.

About a year and a half ago we succumbed to using biobags to line the container. It made composting much easier (dh tries to get as many uses out of one bag as possible, somewhat defeating its purpose.)

A couple of months ago we put this waste pail under our main sink, near the prep area. The cover lifts off automatically when the door is opened. I love the convenience and don't use our counter top containers anymore. Our dw is across the room at our smaller sink. We use washed out ice cream containers or other containers destined for the recycle bin to collect scraps at that sink. It's eventually dumped into the under sink container. I held off getting this container for a couple of years because I kept hoping a version specifically made for composting (with charcoal filters) would come out.

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Zelmar -- What a great idea, that can under the sink that opens automatically. Could you tell us who makes it or how the rest of it might order one? I have mine under the sink too, but no automatic opening, and I was thinking today how many times my back has to bend to compost. But I'm still a big believer in composting.

Thanks for the suggestion!

We have the same Rev-a-shelf bin as Zelmar. Instead of compostable bags, I put a sheet of newspaper in the bin. We empty it every few days and there is no smell.

hmsweethm, I had my eye on this type of can for a couple of years but it was seeing overlyoptimistic (thank you!) put it into action that got me to finally order one. The newspapers are a good idea. The only time I can smell the compost is when I'm on the floor wiping up drips near the sink and my nose is right there.

This can is produced by rev-a-shelf and it has an inner pail that pulls out. We got ours from A.H. Turf (link below)--it was the cheapest I could find (can + shipping charges.) There are more expensive metal cans available (stainless or white by rev-a-shelf and other brands.) I originally wanted a metal one but hearing (seeing?) overlyoptimistic's I realized the plastic one would suit our purposes well. It was the smallest version I could find (it's 13 liters and I really wanted something more like 10 liters) and I worried about the affect of the weight of a metal can + dense compost on the hinges over time. This can seemed flimsy when we first installed it but it has worked well.

The next thing we plan to do is put a pull out shelf under our small sink---basically it will be a piece of plywood (with cut outs to go around the pipes) with a hole for a small removable compost container for collecting scraps on that side of the kitchen (good bye ice cream containers). I hope it will also hold the sink and veggie brushes, steel wool and scrubbies.

Here is a link that might be useful: a. h. turf

Our double bin pull out that I showed above actually has a "cover" that they slide into when you shut the unit. Here's a better photo. No bending to shut the cover.

When I stayed at an apt in NYC they had the can that Zelmar shows above. If you didn't open the other door first before opening the door with the can, the can scraped on the cabinet. But maybe it was a problem with this particular set up.

When I was a child, in London, everyone had a 'sink tidy' - a little basket in the corner of the sink, where the day's peelings and stuff went. At the end of the day it was emptied onto some newspapers and wrapped up. Either put in the compost, or the trash: no plastic bags in those days!

I use a large plastic food saver type box. Same type as the one I use to hold 5lbs flour. But I keep it under the sink. If it starts to get smelly before I can take it to the pile, I just snap the lid shut. No smell, nothing ugly to look at.

Ideally, you'd empty a compost pail daily, then it wouldn't get smelly, but I'm not that organised.

We recently ran across this solution while checking out some friends' recently redone kitchen:

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It seems relatively simple (and cheap): a regular drawer, with some sort of a support (in this case, plastic cutting board-type material) cut to fit the drawer and supporting tupperware. You can brush material directly from prep counter into bin. All the components are easily washed. We're thinking we're going to do something very similar, perhaps with somewhat larger containers.

thanks everyone. What great ideas! Judydel, that stainless setup is gorgeous, almost too nice for undercounter. I could not find the rev a shelf trash with cover like you have, however. Also, I didn't know there was a problem with critters in the compost pit. Perhaps because we don't use it that much so far. I'll consider relocating it. Zelmar and overlyoptimistc, that is a really nice inexpensive setup under the sink, might be more practical for those of us with smaller families and food waste. Jugo, your friend is so clever! Seems like that should not be hard to build.

Here's a link to the rev-a-shelf page for the pull out with the double stainless steel cans. One can is 20 liter and the other is 10 liter.

http://www.rev-a-shelf.com/Common/Products.aspx?Class=Waste%20Containers&Family=Chrome%20Accessories&Category=Pull-Out%20Waste%20Containers&Series=8-785%20Series&PartNo=8-785-30-2SS

It's called the 8-785 series.

jugo--- That looks similar to what I'm trying to dream up! Was planning on using restaurant supply stainless steel components, however, like bain marie pots with lids. Now I've got a better visual to give to the carpenter, thanks!

We have a counter-top composting solution too...big metal coffee cans :)

We use one coffee can for compost items until we've finished all the coffee in a new can, then just toss the old one in the recycling bin. It works great actually. I never wash it and we probably get 3-4 weeks out of each can. The lids are air-tight though, so there's never any smells to worry about, and we dump it out often enough (every couple days usually) that nothing gets a chance to decompose in there.

However, when I had a counter top canister that would be reused indefinitely like yours (aka, definitely needed to be washed regularly) what I did was line it with a regular old plastic grocery bag. I didn't want to have to wash it every time I emptied it, so that was the best solution I came up with. I tried newspapers but liquids would seep through, I tried the bio-degradable bags but they are bloody expensive around here and I couldn't bring myself to spend the money. We can recycle plastic grocery bags so I just used one of them and tossed it into the recycling bin when emptied and threw a new one into my canister.

Judydel, thanks for the link! I don't think I would have noticed fromt aht site that the set is automatically covered when it goes back in.

I have a SS Lee Valley bucket, but it must be of an older generation as it has no filter. But either my kitchen is pretty cool, or my olfactory senses are dead, as I've never noticed unsavoury smells (and no one else has complained). I give it a quick once-ever with a scrub brush each time it gets emptied, although no other family members bother. I compost all winter, even though my outside bin is now quite frozen and covered with snow. I have teen-agers to dig it out for me. By the time spring finally arrives, the mass will have undergone so many freeze/thaw cycles that it will practically melt away into usable mulch.

Just wanted to comment on the critters. We have a large bin right next to the house off the deck. We do have a fenced yard, but that hasn't necessarily deterred the beavers from trying to get to our fruit trees and wouldn't deter smaller critters from trying to get to the bin. However, I have never seen any animals trying to get in there. The only "critters" I've seen have been bugs, when dh empties the compost and doesn't add leaves to cover the scraps.

I also have a smaller portable spinning bin that I plan to put on the deck along with a bin of brown material to make it easier to empty my kitchen crock.

I love all the great ideas for composting in the kitchen! At least one should be ideal for our new kitchen. Thanks!

Forgot to add that our large bin has a locking lid. That may make a difference.

I use a stainless steel cannister I got at WM that has a locking lid on a hinge. It use to "stay open" just halfway, but the hinge is not as tight now. Still, I can open it with one hand , push up lid, push all the way if I want it to stay open (peeling veggies directly into it), close with one hand. I have baggies but haven't used them because I was concerned then I couldn't kinda fluff up the kitchen waste among the compost "browns". I guess of course I could scatter out the bag contents and toss it in separately. So I may still try them.

Gasp-- I don't wash it after every emptying. Depends on what's been in it and how long. If nothing is sticking and gooey, it doesn't smell much, to me, or at least, doesn't smell up the kitchen. Worst smells are rotten citrus.

I use a narrow drawer in my prep island I fitted with a stainless lidded bin (called a 'hotel tray' and used for catering setups.)

I purchased two bins, but use just the one, rinse and dry it and put it back. I don't have a charcoal odor control system. If I can smell it, it should have been emptied yesterday.

celticmoon, that's so clever!

Some of you live where it is freezing in the winter. How do you compost in the winter? Our pile freezes.

Truth we stop here for a couple months in the frozen tundra. Even bacteria isn't too active out there now. And I'm not quite up to trying the worm thingy in the basement.

I envy cooknsews "so many freeze/thaw cycles that it will practically melt away" by spring.

We're in a hard, hard freeze here for a while.

celticmoom I've had your hotel tray in mind for my next kitchen ever since I saw it here years ago. It's brilliant!

It's frozen solid here as well. Nothing microbial will really happen in my pile until late May, which is usually about when we have our last frost. But like I said before, the stuff in the pile will have broken down enough to reduce its volume. Come March/April, we will probably have freezing temps overnight, but above freezing all day. DS on garbage detail has to pass by the compost bin to get to our garbage and recycling bins at the back lane, so we may as well keep dumping the kitchen wastes into it, rather than throwing them out.

You might check into the Nature Mill composters. I posted a question here a while ago, got mixed reactions, plus the suggestion to check out the composting forum in our Garden sibling forums, which I did. These are undercounter electric composters...you dump whatever in the top, and it eventually gets dropped into a lower bin, yielding compost that you can use directly. Works year round.

Some people swear by them. Some people complain. Those who swear by them say they are easy and odorless. My impression is that the new model is more successful. It takes pretty much anything, tho' you do need to follow instructions and include enough 'brown' matter, such as sawdust, to keep the balance.

My husband wants to try it out, and I suspect we will go this route.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nature Mill Composters

I finally found celticmoon's tray- they are called steam pan trays and lids, if anyone else is looking, and are very reasonable in price. Very clever for a hidden solution!

Here's where I got mine a couple years ago. I believe the 4" deep half pan is what fit my drawer (with a salad dressing bottle wedged at the back to make it sit toward the front of the drawer box).

Cool stuff, especially if you are into commercial kitchen gear. They make several sizes of trays. Be sure you specify the lid is NOT notched for a serving spoon.

Here is a link that might be useful: steam trays aka hotel trays

Love this thread, as I am trying to work out a better way to collect compostables in our kitchen.

cotehele, I live where winter temps are darn cold. We compost by digging a hole in the vegie garden, dumping in the scraps and immediately covering it with dirt. The worms take care of it very quickly.

We have done it this way for over 30 years. Way easier than conventional composting. In the winter it is usually possible to break through the frozen ground with a shovel, but to make it easier, I put a pile or bags of leaves on top of the garden, which prevents the soil from freezing.

well-rooted, could you dig a trench early in the winter and just fill it in as you dump scraps?

That's how they handled grave-digging in really cold climates: pre-dug as many as they thought they would need.

lazygardens, I seem to remember suggesting the trench idea to DH, but it didn't happen. If you did you would have to do something to keep the fill-dirt from freezing.

Also, the trench needs to be pretty deep, so it would be quite a bit of work. You don't want animals digging to it.

The other thing you would need to do is put some screening (eg. chicken wire) on the open-trench-side of what you just covered, otherwise its very easy for the critters to dig to it. Sometimes we have to put some on top too.

Despite this I still think it easier than composting. No need to think about greens and browns, no turning it, no smell, no wetting it, no spreading it. Just bury it and forget it.

When we stayed with my DH's cousin in Germany, she had a garbage center under the sink. The entire drawer mechanism was activated by a tap with the knee onto the cabinet front. The drawer opens up on its own. This was truly hands free. Then inside, there were multiple bins: garbage, compost, recycle etc. I have NOT seen anything like this in the USA. Anyone know what I am talking about?

I suppose I could go on German cabinet manufacturer's web sites and search....

Try this web site. This is a page from Hafele catalog. It seems to have the step on opening for the drawer, which would be very handy for the garbage drawer....

Here is a link that might be useful: hafele garbage bins

We keep composting in the winter. We just keep piling stuff on the compost pile and it just sits there and then does it's thing once the spring comes.

My compost container is an old bathroom wastebasket - no lid! I admit that I only clean it occasionally. A tight-fitting lid could result in anaerobic (no air/oxygen) decomposition, which is responsible for really bad smells.

I keep composting in the winter, too. My "winter pile" has lots of leaves and I just dump the new compost on top, and pull leaves over it if they're not frozen. (no hope now, it's 19F out there).

I use a stainless canister with a lid which I keep on the counter. I empty it everyday. I rinse it out, wipe it with a paper towel, which then goes in the very bottom of the canister, making it fairly easy to clean. I opt for a small compost canister, a small trash can and a small recylce bin. If it is small it will get emptied everyday and that will keep the odor in check. Taking out the compost, trash and recycling is just part of a daily routine; trash and re-cyle to bins during first morning dog walkies, compost to bins on the way to the barn to feed.

Re the outside bins, I have 3 big locking bins which I cycle through. I do add manure, leaves, shredded newspaper(our local paper uses soy ink)and already working compost, as well as kitchen scraps. Yes the working bin is frozen, but a good thaw and things will start brewing and what now looks like a frozen sculture of garbage will be turned into black rich earth. You just gotta love it.

Wow, lots of good ideas! Gotta love this forum , info on everything!

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