I love avocados because they are filled with healthy fats and nutrients. One day, as I was enjoying my guacamole, I wondered: Can I compost the skins?
Yes! With a little bit of prep work, you can compost the skin.
Avocado Skin Composition
Avocado is perfect for the compost pile because it contributes both green and brown materials.
“Green” materials are high in nitrogen, which helps beneficial bacteria to multiply and develop. Green ingredients include kitchen wastes such as avocado flesh, fruit peels, bread, coffee grounds, and grass clippings. Green components degrade rapidly.
“Brown” materials are carbon sources that provide microorganisms with long-term energy. Avocado’s rough rind is made up of brown components. Wood chips, twigs or branches, and newspaper are all examples of brown materials. As you might expect, these materials take longer to disintegrate and break down quicker when chopped into tiny bits.
How Long Does It Take to Decompose?
The most difficult aspect of composting avocado peels is the length of time it takes for them to degrade. Even under perfect conditions, they take 2 to 4 months to degrade.
Avocado peels should make up for no more than 10% of your compost pile’s food scraps. Because these rinds are strong, the more you add to your pile, the longer it will take for the material to degrade.
Just like when composting eggshells, you will frequently see parts of the avocado shell in it during a full rotation. These pieces can be left in the pile until they decompose. Alternatively, if there is a large piece of avocado peel remaining, you can remove it.
How to Speed Up the Process
To speed up the process of breaking down the skins, there are a couple of things you can do:
1. Cut with kitchen scissors
Simply take your kitchen scissors and cut up your avocado peel so you are left with small squares. These can then be added directly to your composter.
2. Pulverize them with other kitchen scraps
Consider using a powerful blender to pulverize them. Bacteria and fungi will have an easier time working on these tiny particles. You can, in fact, do this with all of your food waste. Store it in a small container, and when it is full, blend everything into a mushy consistency before adding it to your compost bin.
3. Bake and grind
Similar to eggshells, you can bake avocado skins and then grind them. Baking the peels will draw out the moisture. Then you can put them into a coffee grinder and chop them down before adding them to your compost pile.
Remember to Take Off Produce Stickers
Remember to remove any produce stickers first. Most of these are made of vinyl or plastic. Despite being labeled as food-grade, they are not biodegradable. Because of their small size, it’s easy to miss them, especially if you’re tossing the whole peel into the compost pile.
Should You Add Pits to Your Compost? How Long Do They Take to Decompose?
As stated earlier, avocado pits can be added to your pile if you want. That being said, I don’t recommend it.
Because pits are so thick, they take a very long time to decompose. Furthermore, because they are so hard, cutting them into smaller bits to speed up the process is quite tough.
Even under optimal conditions, they might take up to six months to decompose. So my recommendations? Simply toss them out, or for a fun hobby, try planting them!
