DAY 10: 12 Days of HOTBIN Composting Christmas Tips
DAY 10: Turkey and Trimmings – Composting at Christmas
Holidays are considered a time for indulgence and Americans are no exception. It is believed the average American gains around ten pounds during the December festivities, ranking third, behind Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday.
Stats estimates that of 244 million turkeys raised in the USA, and 22 million show up on Christmas tables nationwide. Indeed, while the average amount of calories consumed per person is between 2.0-2.5K, a single Christmas meal averages 3.0K calories. Sadly, it is estimated that 4.2 million festive dinners are thrown away each year.
How can we eat so much food at Christmas and yet waste so much at the same time?
Christmas for many is a period of indulgence, where numerous television adverts make us all salivate at the sight of every Christmas bite and our subconscious makes us think we need every single one available on Christmas day.
Another USA stat sadly shows that 400K Americans will get sick from Christmas leftovers each year, recommending that leftovers should be eaten the same night or soon after.
So, the question is… How can we reduce waste during the holidays? If you end up with leftovers this year, just remember that your HOTBIN would like a Christmas feast too!
HOTBIN Christmas Menu
APPETIZERS
Vegetable peelings are easy-to-digest waste for the HOTBIN. When chopped to delicious tender bite-size pieces, they will break down and decay quicker. For example, the center or seed of an avocado, will take a long time to break down unless it is broken into pieces. So... do not forget to chop the waste before getting it into your HOTBIN.
Cheese Board - Hard cheeses can be composted and are best cut into small cubes, like those you might put on a cocktail stick with some olives or pineapple! Warning: Soft cheese cannot be composted due to a very high liquid content.
MAIN COURSE
Turkey, Roast Potatoes, Cooked Vegetables, Stuffing and Pigs in Blankets
Leftover turkeys and all the trimmings can be added to the HOTBIN. HOTBIN loves all cooked food and bones waste so be sure to pre-heat your HOTBIN to hot composting temperatures of 100-104oF before adding.
Remember, cooked food waste is very wet, so it should be served and mixed thoroughly with a liberal seasoning of shredded paper (2-3 handfuls per 1.5 gallons of food waste container/tray) and don't forget adding the bulking agent (mulch).
Cranberry Sauce, Bread Sauce and Gravy
Add to the HOTBIN as plate scrapings. Large quantities at one time, are not recommended as this will make the HOTBIN too wet. We suggest that you break the leftovers into different batches of waste, and remember to add a little extra of shredded paper.
DESSERT
Christmas Pudding - If you’ve found all the coins in your pudding and have leftovers (very rare), these can be added to the HOTBIN too.
DRINKS (Hot and Cold Beverages)
Warning: DO NOT add liquids to the HOTBIN as this will result in a soggy bin. You can compost tea bags and coffee, Just recommend giving your tea bags a good squeeze and coffee grinds a good press (to extract the water) before adding them into your HOTBIN too.
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