December 13, 2022, 4:55 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Fruits and vegetables don’t decompose equally well in compost. Sometimes you need to give them a little help–especially with popular Christmas fruits.
During the pre-Christmas season, many people reach for oranges, mandarins, and other citrus fruits. For many, they are an inseparable part of Advent. But how should you dispose of the peels after eating the fruit? Can you put orange peels in the compost? Experts advise against it–for a specific reason.
Don’t Put Orange Peels in the Compost
The peels of oranges, mandarins, and other citrus fruits decompose poorly in compost. This is because microorganisms in the composting process find them difficult to break down. The Federal Information Center for Agriculture points this out.
The Tip: Add only a few peels to the compost. And it’s best to chop them up first. This speeds up the decomposition process.
A compost is not only suitable for processing green waste from the garden. Many kitchen scraps can also be disposed of there and turned into valuable fertilizer and soil, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee, tea, or eggshells.
How Should You Dispose of Orange Peels?
The peels of oranges and other citrus fruits are biodegradable–it just takes a very long time. Like many other organic kitchen waste, they can be disposed of in the organic waste bin. However, many fruits that come to Germany from distant countries are contaminated with pesticides. These break down during processing at the landfill, so they do not cause harm.
with material from dpa