Can You Compost Your Uneaten Pizza Crust?

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People all around the world enjoy the greasy and delicious taste of pizza, but some do not enjoy eating the crust. What are you supposed to do with the old pizza crust?

Uneaten pizza crust can be composted. The flour inside the pizza benefits a garden because it assists in balancing the pH levels of the soil and prevents the spread of greenhouse gases. Using uneaten pizza crust as compost will prevent overfilled landfills and the spread of greenhouse gas.

While pizza crust is one of the things that can be added to compost, there is also a plethora of other food items that can be used for compost. Compost is beneficial in a garden, but the types of compost you use can affect the outcome of your garden.

Can You Compost Pizza Crust?

Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed. It can be made of various items such as leaves, twigs, and even kitchen scraps! Pizza crust fills the requirement of kitchen scraps, so just looking from this perspective, pizza crust can be composted.

There are many types of composting, and they can be broken down into three main types: aerobic, anaerobic, and vermicomposting.

Aerobic Composting

In aerobic composting, the air is used to hasten the process. In this process, it is best to add plenty of greens. This type of compost will have a lot of nitrogen. The only downsides to aerobic composting are that it has to be regularly watered and mixed. Failure to do so will result in the garden soil smelling horrid.

Anaerobic Composting

Anaerobic composting is a mere combination of scraps that you leave there for a year or more. Though it is easy to make anaerobic compost, it is detrimental to your garden. Leaving the scraps to become compost without oxygen allows bacteria to take over and even can cause methane gas. This gas is often found in landfills and can be very destructive. Methane gas can result in spontaneous combustion leading to compost fire and completely ruin your plans for any type of garden party.

This type of composting can be used when composting pizza crust because it is a type of scraps that you can just leave in a bin, but it is not necessarily the type of composting you want to try by yourself. There is a better technique you can use.

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is done through the use of worms, oxygen, and moisture. Worms are key to this kind of composting because they break down the organic materials.

For pizza crust, this is the best method.

Actually, this is the best kind of composting in general. Because you do not need to turn the soil often, it can be used indoors or outdoors, and it stinks much less than aerobic or anaerobic composting. This type of compost is particularly loved by red worms, so you will be finding plenty of red worms in the garden soil you add this kind of compost too.

You will need two bins. One of the bins will have holes in the bottom. It will rest inside of the other bin so It can drain water from the compost. This is important because if the compost is not allowed to discard the water it does not need, the compost will be too wet for the worms.

In the bin without holes in the bottom, put some kind of spacer in between the bottom bin and top bin. Tupperware containers can be used, just lay them upside down in the bin.

You will only need one lid, but you will need to drill some holes in it so the worms can breathe. Covering the holes with landscape fabric is a good idea because it will help keep the smell inside the container if it does start to smell.

Put the bin with holes inside of the bin without holes, using the spacres between them. You can begin your compost with simple lawn scraps and add kitchen scraps.

Put the worms in the compost bin and keep them fed by continuing to fill the compost bin with kitchen scraps. Also, remember to empty the bottom bin regularly so too much water does not collect in the bin and prevent the other bin from draining.

Because crust can be an organic material, it can be composted by using the vermicomposting technique. This will allow for the nitrogen levels to readjust in the dirt.

Bread in Compost

Bread-based foods can be beneficial in compost. Bread is organic, so putting leftover bread-based foods in your garden can be beneficial because it will help the nitrogen levels. You will also no longer have those old leftovers in your house.

Because pizza crust is bread, it works!

This lowers the greenhouse gases that are released into the air. Doing this can help climate change over an extensive period of time.

The best way to compost bread is to use the vermicomposting technique. In this technique, all you have to do is add the bread scraps to the rest of your food scraps. As discussed previously, vermicomposting is the easiest type of composting because you do not have to turn it as often.

If you vermicompost the bread in a covered bin, you will be able to prevent unwanted animals and bugs while simultaneously helping your garden grow and flourish.

The Upside of Composting Pizza Crust

It is also beneficial because it will not slow down the composting process, and it breaks down relatively quickly. Since pizza dough and bread dough are highly similar in ingredients, the same will happen by putting leftover pizza crusts into your garden.

If you are planning on putting leftover pizza crust into your compost, it is important to rip the crust into small sections. Doing this makes it more difficult for animals to find the crust. Also, remember that the crust should be mixed throughout the entirety of the compost.

The Downside of Composting Pizza Crust

Animals and other critters probably walk through your garden much more than you think they do. If you include pizza crust in your garden, the amounts of unwanted critters will probably increase. Though the crust can benefit the garden soil, you might attract more attention from the animals and bugs living around your yard.

One key way to address this is by composting the bread in a closed bin. If you also make sure the bread is well covered, it will help assist in preventing the pest problem.

Old pizza crust can be used in composting because it helps plants obtain the nutrients they need and protects them from bacteria that can infect them.

Though it may attract some unwanted critters, your garden will be able to thrive through the use of vermicomposting.