I was adding citrus peels to my bin for 8 months before a neighbor's comment made me rethink it
I had been tossing orange and lemon peels into my countertop bin the whole time, thinking they would break down just fine with the coffee grounds and eggshells. My bin started getting this sour, boozy smell around week three of each cycle, and I kept blaming the weather in my Chicago apartment. A guy at the community garden down the street asked what I was putting in there, and when I mentioned citrus he just shook his head and said the oils kill off the good stuff and keep the pile too wet. I pulled out about two cups of slimy peel chunks that had barely changed after two months and realized I was basically pickling my scraps instead of composting them. Now I keep citrus in a separate bowl and take it to the city drop-off every Sunday, and my bin has smelled like nothing but wet dirt for six weeks straight. Has anyone found a workaround for citrus, or do you just keep it out of the bin entirely?