Can I put animal material in my compost bin?

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Permalink Reply by Nick on June 3, 2009 at 11:14am

yikes! meat = stinky = attracts critters (rats and such) = yikes

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Permalink Reply by Nick on June 3, 2009 at 11:19am

by the way, this is one of my favorite composting sites for a quick and easy reference
compostthis.co.uk
and
composting101.com

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Permalink Reply by Dana on June 3, 2009 at 1:08pm

Great...thanks for the info Nick!

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Permalink Reply by Ben Ruesga on June 3, 2009 at 1:18pm

Try googling bokashi composting. This method relies on fermentation, not decomposition so supposedly there is no smell. you can compost anything with this method, meat, fish, bones, vegg, etc... I haven't tried it personally, but I have heard good things.

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Permalink Reply by Ericka Cero Wood on June 3, 2009 at 3:04pm

I met a gal that is connected to Acrosanti in some way and they compost their meat by-products in a special compost pile. They do not use it on their veggies from what I recall, but I cannot be certain. I am sure that their compost piles are quite large to accommodate the people living out there.

For backyard composts, esp. since you are new to it, I would stick to greens and yard waste. Ben's suggestion about bokashi is intriguing. I have heard great things in general about bokashi, but keep it simple until you have had some experience (IMHO). We add things like pizza boxes and q-tips to our compost, which purest composters would question. We even compost citrus peels which we have been told by many NOT to do. But, in time they break down just like everything else. Hope that helps, and kudos to you for taking the step to compost!!!

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Permalink Reply by tenacity on July 21, 2009 at 6:23am

I put it in there and haven't had any problems- and I live right in the city, north central. I wouldn't put a whole raw steak right on top- I just make a little hole and cover it. No problem. If you think about it- rotting stuff is rotting stuff, pretty much.

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Permalink Reply by VynnieTheGardener on August 2, 2009 at 10:53am

Heya Dana -

A bit late on the discussion but thought I'd share my 'nodes. Like Nick said, attracting critters is the real issue with adding animal material to your compost. I have two basic rules to adding animal material to compost pile: minimize the concentration and bury it. Make a bit of a hole space in your compost pile then dump in the table scraps. Use a spade shovel to pulverize it a bit. Then cover it up with some top compost stuff and pulverize that a bit. You shouldn't have any issue with simple critters - rodents, felines, birds - however, dogs and havalina may be keen to it so just use a fence/screen.

If you're throwing out old bad meat, you may want to just trash it. In the past, I've even burried stuff right in the garden about a foot deep in a hole with rough compost material and backfilled it. Then covered the spot with pavers to protect. Checked it in a month and no trace.

If you decide to compost it, I recommend cutting it into small peices and bury it toward the bottom of the pile. With it, mix a nice batch of fresh green material (lawn clippings) and good brown material (old lawn clippings). Pulverize it with a spade shovel and cover it about 2ft.

With it being the warm season, the scent could attract some keen critters so just be sure to monitor your compost every other day or so checking for foraging. The animal material will likely break down completely (except bones) in 10-14 days.

You can also check out my presentation on Composting from Wednesday 07/29:
http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/profile/VYNNIE

Have fun with it.

- VYNNIE
602.770.1613
terrafirmaaz@yahoo.com
Phoenix, 85021

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Martin Schreiber on August 3, 2009 at 9:32pm

Adding meat to compost can be very stinky. is any sort of impartial break down can result in the growth and dominance of stinky bacteria that attracts flies and can make people very sick if it is transferred to your plants.

I have not heard of the fermented compost, but it may work. What I have done in the past is to break it into small pieces and bury it in the ground or deep within an partially decomposed compost pile. that gets rid of the smell. and the meat is fully composted in a period of a few weeks.

~Andrew

PS not all rotting stuff is created equal.

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Permalink Reply by tenacity on August 28, 2009 at 3:59pm

i wonder if aerobic vs. anaerobic matters. What makes meat stink? Is it the particular organisms that gather or the protien? The vermin thing is easy to handle, that's just environmental modification. Smells come from things, though, you know? Where does the smell of meat come from, specifically? Can that element be prevented or removed? i put meat in in tiny portions - scraps from dinner, not whole mass - is it mass? Type? The worst smell I've had was when I let a bin with a layer of some potatoes get too wet. Eeeeeewwww. Learned not to overwater that day.

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