Citrus skin firelighters

We eat and use a lot of oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits and are left with lots of citrus skins which, in large amounts, do not compost very well, so we usually just through them away.

Not liking waste, we have been looking for ways to use our citrus peelings.

One method we are going to try  is to sun dry the peelings and use them for firelighters in our wood burning stove or on the bar-be-que. The rinds apparently blacken in the sun but the citrus oil remains in the rinds which contains flammable oils. The firelighters will have the added benefit of giving off a lovely aroma when used.

Other suggestions are to add the dried peelings to a potpourri or use the zest in baking, making candied orange peel or various homemade cleaners.