Can I put Moldy Food in my Compost?

It's fuzzy, it's squishy, and it may be green. Mold finds its way onto our produce, bread, and other food items that have been left for a little bit too long. We work hard to keep our compost piles from having bad smells or attracting pests, so the mold looks a little questionable when we are hovering over our food scrap collection. 

Well, you can let out a sigh of relief, and drop the moldy produce right on in. 

Mold is a fungal growth, ultimately consisting of spores that allow the mold to continue to grow. Things like "mold" and "fungus" sound like an illness waiting to happen, but they are simply ways for organic material to breakdown. It's not all bad; take mushrooms for example. A mushroom is a fungus, but we still eat it. All this to say, I'm not advocating for snacking on your moldy bread, but the mold itself isn't necessarily harmful. In fact, a moldy item will not hurt your compost at all! Because your compost pile is breaking down the organic material being thrown into it, the mold just gets you one step ahead in the decomposition process. 

That moldy food scrap is going to add value and nutrients to your compost, but the best practice is to use that item for its intended purpose before it starts to decompose in your kitchen. Lots of resources went into growing that food, whether it came from a field and was shipped across the country to your grocery store, or if it was grown in your own backyard. Prevent food waste at home by properly storing your food, shopping with a list so you aren't buying more than you will use, and sharing your food with others when needed before it has a chance to go bad. 

Blogger: Sam Plante