QUESTION: Can you compost chips? I found an entire case of them in a dumpster behind our local grocery store, but they were too stale to eat. – Rick A
ANSWER: Almost everything out there that is organic can be composted, including leftover chips. (Why are getting expired food from a dumpster, by the way?) In that rule of thumb, the word “organic” is use to mean anything that comes from nature and is not manmade—not necessarily “organic” as in the more eco-friendly and more expensive option for groceries. If you plan to use potato or tortilla chips or some other type of chips in your compost, keep reading for a few tips and bits of information you should know.
- Just like your potato peelings and other scraps from cooking with tubers, potato chips (or other types of chips) will function as a “green” material that provides the compost with nitrogen.
- Lots of pest animals would gladly scale the walls of your compost bin for an opportunity to munch on some tasty chips, so make sure to bury the chips you use in your compost. Don’t leave them resting on the surface or even too near to the top of the pile, or the local wildlife will be able to smell them.
- Don’t forget about how greasy chips are. Grease is one of the foods you should never add when it’s in its purest form. (The others are meat, dairy products, and fish.) Take care to utilize chips in your compost only in moderation, and don’t put too many into the compost, or you can experience the same problems you would if you added pure grease. The forbidden ingredients aren’t used in compost because they can make the bin smell really badly, and it’s common for these materials to also attract local pest animals.
- When you’re adding chips to your compost pile, crush them a bit so that they decompose more quickly and will finish breaking down at the same rate as the other ingredients you’re using.