Food - Drink
Why You Should Never Compost Meat
By FELIX BEHR
Over the past year, the view that meat should be composted seems to have taken hold, with some assuming that since meat is an organic product, it lends itself to composting. As it turns out, meat composting is not a good idea, because pests may be more attracted to the smell of meat, and it may spread E. coli if it doesn't decompose quickly enough.
Animal products can also host salmonella, which can contaminate the whole compost, and when used as fertilizer, the product grown can become infected. A hot composting process should be followed wherein the compost pile's internal temperature reaches between 130 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit for five days to ensure diseases don’t develop.
Hot composting requires mixing carbon components such as sawdust, dried leaves, or cardboard, as well as nitrogen components like manure, fruit scraps, and other leafy materials in the compost. Once you wet the materials, add an activating ingredient, like urine or old compost, and after five days have passed, turn the compost inside out several times until it is completed, which should be around the 18th day.