Dubai
I have always been concerned with wet garbage at home. Being a mother of two, I have had to throw many things, like food items, in the trash, which I find disheartening.
After giving it a thought, a few months ago, I started gathering all the wet garbage throughout the day, including leftover food, onions, garlic skin, used tea or coffee powder, leafy vegetable roots, orange, lemon and banana peels, dried remains of plants and flowers. At the end of the day, I added it to my kitchen grinder.
While grinding, I added water and then drained it through a sieve. I used the water to spray the plants and as for the remaining leftovers, I used it as compost for my gallery’s garden. My garden is blooming beautifully, with well-nourished plants since then!
So, how does it work? It is very simple. I dig a hole in an existing pot of sand, put the ground remains in and then cover it with soil. For new pots, I create a layer or two of this compost and cover it with soil.
In this process, the microbes found in the soil decompose the kitchen waste. As I blended in the compost, it helped in faster breakdown. The plants can effectively get the nutrients in this way. However, avoid putting in dairy products, meat and bread, because they might rot and attract pests, which can be terrible.
After I used the grinder, I used soap or baking soda, along with water, to spin it in the mixer for one or two rounds. This cleaned the grinder completely!
This can be a brilliant idea for many households and can resolve the problem of wet garbage. The authorities are putting in a lot of effort in making our cities beautiful. Why don’t we also contribute and make a difference?
— The reader is a homemaker based in Dubai.
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