Compost material from grocery store

After picking up about 5 boxes of this every week, I'm thinking I'll have some good compost next year.
Going to add some fresh cow manure soon...maybe some horse also.




Going to let this pile finish, opened it up today, steam bellowed out...

You sure hit the jackpot there Jimmy! Almost as good as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow I'd say.

Really nice! Compost in quantity is really expensive, too, so you're saving yourself significant money by making it yourself.

Wow what a wonderful haul Jimmy cee, congratulations!

Jimmy, You scored! 

I used to get stuff like that until they started saying they were not allowed to give it away due to health reasons. That includes even Starbucks that has an instore coffee house in Safeway.  
I do get coffee grounds from two locally-owned cafes. 
I have just remembered that there is a locally-owned greengrocer who has recently opened; I must call in and see if he is open to giving away past-due veggies and fruit.
Better still, there is an organic grower who is thinking of opening up. I will pounce on him if he does.

Kelejan smart thinking!

Maybe, if all the food establishments and grocery stores in town are not parting with their compostables due to perceived potential liability...

... it may be time to go to city hall and the town council and draft some ordinances for compulsory composting within the municipality....

Ahhh, good idea Camprn!  The residents of my city have three garbage cans, one for regular garbage, one for recyclables (newspaper, plastic, etc.) and one for green waste.  The landfill uses the green waste, shredded trees, etc. and makes compost.  That would be a great idea for them to require stores and/or restaurants to also have green waste containers.  If I can time it right, there is one grocery store near me that will give me their throw away produce.  There are other people that want it also so it is basically a first come, first served.

Fellow who is giving me the discarded material told me "it's only being thrown out, if he could help, he would be happy to"
We need more people in this world like him...
Every once in a while I'll get him some kind of a gift (certificate) maybe or such.

jimmy cee wrote:Fellow who is giving me the discarded material told me "it's only being thrown out, if he could help, he would be happy to"  
We need more people in this world like him...
Every once in a while I'll get him some kind of a gift (certificate) maybe or such.

When I have spare compost I give some to the people who help me by letting me have their compostable items. e.g. finished compost to my neighbours who let me have their leaves in the fall; worm castings to my neighbour who drops off little packages everytime she passes by so that I can feed my worms.

If they will take it, I like to use a bucket full of my compost to inoculate other folks new piles.  It makes me happy to see my neighbors and friends start composting & to help them with it.  

Nice haul, Jimmy.

CC

4 boxes picked up yesterday, tomorrow going to get more...

If this keeps up through winter, my entire yard will be a compost pit....

I finally got to use my chipper/shredder today (it's been in storage for about 10 years!) I'm whooped, but I chipped up 1/2 of a pile. I didn't want to overdo it so I'll leave the rest for later this week.

I'm such a happy girl - it takes so little to keep me amused   
Audrey

My haul from the last night of the Farmer's Market.


Now if I just had Audrey's chipper . . .

Great going Sanderson, I'm thinking I am enjoying the compost chores every bit as much as gardening itself.
Gives me a very satisfying feeling when I see steam coming out of my piles.
Audrey, don't overdue it, save some work for tomorrow.
Covered bed in a greenhouse, sort of sounds tropical to me...

Woah! Some of those foodstuffs I would be putting into freezing or canning. 

Camprn
I agree, however if you saw close up what this stuff really looked like, you'd change your mind on that..
Last week I opened 5 plastic containers of strawberries, which I love.
Was very difficult for me to toss them in the pile...but in they went..

people wanting to eat food given away by grocers for composting is why many stores don't give it away anymore.

landarch wrote:people wanting to eat food given away by grocers for composting is why many stores don't give it away anymore.

I don't buy that argument. I think they just don't want to be bothered or they simply couldn't care less for the hungry masses. I would have made jelly from the plums if they were good enough...

These days businesses incur legal fees and insurance premium raises for being nice -- and that's just the beginning. It's just business.

Often it's not even anyone at an individual business that decides. They go by franchise policy.

camprn wrote:

landarch wrote:people wanting to eat food given away by grocers for composting is why many stores don't give it away anymore.

I don't buy that argument. I think they just don't want to be bothered or they simply couldn't care less for the hungry masses. I would have made jelly from the plums if they were good enough...

I'm with camp on this one! I don't agree...how do they know or even care what people do with it. They are throwing it away anyway so why should it matter to the store what is done with their "garbage". Our society is so quick to sue others for their own stupidity/lack of common sense...like knowing coffee is hot or rotten food shouldn't be eaten and the courts actually award them for it. So businesses are afraid to do anything that would give someone a basis for some dumb lawsuit.  And I was thinking the same thing she was when I saw these pics...looks like quite a bit of it is still good enough to use other than just composting. No wonder prices are so high if grocery stores are throwing that much food away every day or two.

That said though congrats Jimmy and Sanderson on the nice hauls...it will make some nice compost.

I spoke with the manager at a local HyVee and they had to change their company policy against giving food away because of fear the food would be consumed or donated for consumption and fear of being sued.  I'm not arguing with whether it's a good policy or not...that's just what they told me.  Even if I don't buy their argument I still can't get their old produce.

Well, I am tempted to eat some of the perfectly good food.  However, I told all the vendors that it was for compost, so, into the compost it went.  Sob!  (Opps, a few seeds of interesting tomatoes and peppers didn't make the compost pile!!   )

This last Friday night, one stand gave me 4 apples to eat.  The older teen of the family was really stoked on SFG.  It wouldn't work for their business, but he understood that it was great for home gardening.  At a Hmong stand, the teen wanted to know how I grew plants in vegetables.without fertilizer.  After I explained that the old plant dies and the baby plant uses the nutrients from the old plant. he said they put all their culls in giant barrels with water and use it as fertilizer!  I bet it stinks but is really good tea! But it's basically the same except for the slow release vs. the immediate availability of nutrients. Right?

landarch wrote:I spoke with the manager at a local HyVee and they had to change their company policy against giving food away because of fear the food would be consumed or donated for consumption and fear of being sued.  I'm not arguing with whether it's a good policy or not...that's just what they told me.  Even if I don't buy their argument I still can't get their old produce.

landarch, that makes since and is what I was referring to. When I read your initial comment I took it like they stopped giving it out for compost BECAUSE people were wanting to eat it instead of they stopped because of fear of lawsuits by people who were eating it and then suing, etc. It's really a shame that things haven't gotten to this point. And a real waste that all that produce isn't being utilized in compost piles or anyway that responsible level headed people see fit.