Didn't see the show and can't tell which of the episodes is was from your link without going through all of them. But maybe they were vermicomposting? And there are specialty in-kitchen composting systems available on the market.

As to composting leftover chicken, nothing prohibits doing it. Many do it. Some folks prefer to avoid using meats, dairy products, and fats but it's a personal preference, not a prohibition.

Dave

I can't tell which episode it was, either, from their short descriptions on their site. Yes, I bet you are right. They were probably vermicomposting. I didn't know there was such a thing.

Cathy

Once you get a good pile or bin going you can compost anything that was once alive. I put all my leftover cooked food, bones, fats, everything into a bin and it all breaks down into compost. I even put a whole tub of margarine (which is really just rotten oil) in once and that disappeared too.

Granted, I do composting outside, but the concept is sound.

Cheers,
Kyle

Indeed, Professor Dirt has composted a whole dead deer. (And I've met Professor Dirt!)

Frederick County, Maryland, also apparently composts deer roadkill, according to this morning's paper. But not, presumably, in somebody's apartment :-).

From what I've read, the primary reasons we don't compost meats is that raw meat may carry pathogens and that all meats attract unwanted pests. So I don't see it as a no-no, per se, just a bit risky. :shrug:

It has been a couple of years or so since "Dirty Jobs" which I think is a Discovery Channel program showed composting of restaurant waste from China Town in San Francisco. This wasn't any kitchen sink project, they had acres and heavy equipment. But one of the points was that one can, in theory, compost almost anything.

Gardenweb has a vermicomposting forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb's vermaculture forum

There are very expensive "composters" being sold today that use electricity and can be placed in the kitchen and like many of these devices are mostly for those that, for whatever reason, cannot compost in the garden where the only outside energy needed is that which the gardener expends.

The episode of "Wasted" came on again this morning, and I happened to catch it. It was the episode titled "He said, She said". Anyway, the type of composter they are using is an automatic composter by Nature Mill. It costs between $299 and $399. It looks pretty cool. "The upper chamber mixes, heats, and aerates."

Cathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Nature Mill Composter

I think it was in the 1993 flood that 20,000 turkeys were drowned and composted with tons of shredded tree debris.

yep, you really can compost most all the so called "compost no-nos" you just need to have the compost management skills to make sure that it doesn't become a nuisance. To compost lots of dead or large dead animals, one needs really large hot composting piles with plenty of cover materials.

I personally would not compost a chicken inside my house but that is probably because I'm not going to spend money on fancy , electronic composting contraptions. I figure that since I have a yard, I can have a nice big compost pile out there. We regularly put dead fish, chicken parts, other random small dead critters, all food scraps, and our own personal manure (as in humanure) in that pile. Our pile is often as hot as 160 F.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx