Stop smells in your food and green waste bin
Tuesday 29 October 2019
We’ve put together these top 11 tips to help you stop smells in your food and green waste bin.
1. Close the lid
It’s simple, but it helps. Keeping the bin lid closed will keep pests away and minimise any nasty smells.
2. Recycle your food regularly
Put your food and green waste bin out for collection every week, even if it is not full.
3. Keep it cool
Store your bin out of direct sunlight if you can, as heat can speed up smells.
4. Squeeze your tea bags
Leave tea bags and coffee grinds to cool off before putting them in your bin. If it gets hot and steamy, it’ll create extra water and encourage fruit flies. Also make sure you squeeze out any excess water.
5. Soak it up
Use stale bread, food-soiled paper or old newspaper to absorb excess moisture and avoid mouldy stuff getting stuck in the corners of your bin. You can wrap your food scraps in newspaper, or line your bin with it. Watch how to make your own bin liners out of old newspaper or download a PDF of the instructions.
If you find that bad odours linger in your bin, sprinkle baking soda inside.
7. And try a twist of lemon
If you have a small bin you can handle easily, rinse it out once a week with hot water containing a slug of tea tree oil or lemon juice, and then leave it to dry. Lemon juice is a natural odour remover.
8. Swap it out
Alternate food scraps with layers of leaves or lawn clippings to reduce odours.
9. Separate your steaks
Put stinky scraps like meat, fish or bones in the freezer until closer to collection day.
10. Or eat less meat
Meat takes longer to break down than vegetables and attracts flies. The easiest way to avoid this is to eat less meat in the first place. You’ll have fewer meaty leftovers to recycle and you’ll have cut the impact of your food on the environment at the same time. It’s a win-win.
11. Eat more of your food
Write a weekly menu plan and make a shopping list, so you only buy what you need. Recycling food is great, but eating it is better. Find out more at Love Food Hate Waste.
If you would like a different sized bin to what you were already supplied please let us know at [email protected]. Read more about composting your food waste.
Thanks to Friends of the Earth in the UK for inspiring many of these tips.