If you want to create a good, rich compost at home then it makes sense to use biodegradable organic matter from a variety of sources. For many of us, garden waste such as grass cuttings, pruned branches and fallen leaves all go into the compost tumbler, but kitchen scraps can also provide valuable nutrients if you take the time to collect them.

Investing in a kitchen compost bin is a simple and economical way to recycle household food waste into something useful. Every time you peel a potato or crack an egg, pop the skin or shell into a container separate from your regular rubbish and recycling bin and add the contents to your compost bin when it’s full.

How seriously you approach composting kitchen waste is really up to you. One of my friends has been making fabulous compost for years and all she does is toss her peelings, bread crusts and tea bags into an old ice cream tub on her benchtop when she cooks, and then empties it into her main compost bin each evening. However, some food products smell and can even attract insects (especially in summer), so I like to use a simple kitchen pail with a firmly fitting lid, to stop odours from escaping.

Of course, there are some excellent kitchen compost bins that have been specifically designed to blend in with the pots and jars of your average kitchen.. A quick online search shows that there are some very attractive kitchen compost buckets in stainless steel and chrome, if you wish to make your composting habit a design feature. Other options include bright coloured plastic bins and ceramic ones. And if you’d like something that both looks good and smells fine, there are a number of compost pails that include a charcoal filter that will eliminate any unpleasant smells from the decomposing food scraps.

Whichever compost bucket you decide to use, there are a few standard things that you should look out for. Firstly, a sturdy handle is a must for when you want to transfer the contents to outside. Make sure that the insides of the bin are smooth and easy to clean and, if you choose a model with an odour filter, be sure that the filter is simple to replace. Personally, I have a kitchen compost bin with a flip-up lid so that I can open and close it with just one hand when I’m busy cooking – but remember that the lid still needs to fit snugly to stop smells from escaping.

If you look at the huge quantities of food that the average home throws out each year, you’ll be horrified. Think of all the fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds and tea bags, egg shells and bread crusts that you chuck out on a daily basis. Think of the perfectly good food that you throw away simply because you cooked too much or it was out of date. Finally, multiply all those discarded kitchen scraps by millions of households. The waste is staggering and totally unnecessary.

So why not get yourself a kitchen compost bin and start composting your unwanted food rather than simply chucking it out? After all, it’s good for the environment and will save you money!