Expert tips: How to get rid of prawns without stinking out your bin

Barbecued or served fresh, prawns are a refreshing festive treat enjoyed by millions of Aussies around the country come Christmas Day, but how do you dispose of the waste without stinking out your bin?

Smelly bins are a bit of a Christmas hazard down under and to make matters worse there’s often an array of bugs and flies that love nothing more than buzzing around your decomposing scraps, making for one big messy situation.

Elke Keeley, co-founder of UrbanYou — a company that specialises in household cleaning and gardening — told Starts at 60 her tops tips to dispose of prawn shells without leaving your bin with an unsavoury smell.

Compost your shrimp in your garden

Rather than throwing the shrimp leftovers into the bin, Elke says you can dig them into the garden “to help combat bacteria that damage tomato plants, fruit trees, vines and roses”.

The shells contain compounds that feed bacteria which, in turn, helps the soil to break down.

“You’ll want to grind your prawn shells up to be as small as possible before digging them into your garden soil and watering them in,” she explains.

Read more: How to stop smelly bins in the scorching summer heat

Turn your prawn heads and shells into stock

Prawn shells, tails, and even the heads are packed flavour. Instead of tossing them out, save them and whip up a quick stock or prawn bisque, Elke suggests. Alternatively, you can freeze the prawn shells for up to a month.

“You can freeze the leftovers from your summer prawn pig outs for up to a month and, using a basic fish stock, revive them even after prawn season through an Asian-style soup, Spanish paella, or buttery prawn bisque,” she adds. “Prawn heads can also be fried into crunchy morsels or into prawn oil.”

Reuse prawn shells as bait

You can also reuse prawn shells as bait.

“By keeping your prawn shells in an airtight container in the freezer, you can keep them out of your bins and be sorted with an after-Christmas family activity,” Elke says.

Alternatively, you could always freeze the prawn shells and put them in the bin come garbage day, to avoid stinking out your home and neighbourhood.

How do you dispose of prawns? Do you have any extra tips?