I’ve put cracked eggshells back in the egg carton my whole life. But my wife says she sees no advantage to it, and throws hers in the trash. To me, the biggest advantage is convenience. I keep the carton beside the burner, and cracking a couple or three eggs is quick and easy. It seems to me that if you take the time to walk to the cabinet, pull out the can, toss in a shell, and put it back, you’re adding time between each egg and they won’t cook evenly. Edlyn argues that it makes it harder to tell how many eggs are available at a quick glance, but I think the weight of the carton is itself a clue. So what do you do, and why?
I’ve always put them back into the carton, just out of convienence and habit, until just a couple weeks ago. Now I throw them away because I’m saving the cartons for crafty stuff with my kid, and it’s a pain trying to clean dried eggy shells out of a carton without breaking it.
I put them down the garbage disposal which is handily located right by the stove. 
Sometimes I add them to my lovely compost pile.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody put them back in the carton. The couple seconds difference in cooking time from walking to and from the trash can doesn’t seem to me to be that big of a factor. When they’re done, they’re done, it doesn’t matter what order they went into the pan.
If I’m using all six eggs I chuck the shells back because the carton’s there, and put the whole lot in the bin. If not, I have something else handy to throw them in/on, as I don’t like having to deal with an eggy carton until I use the rest.
I don’t use cartons. All eggs go into the refrigerator. When cooking, the correct number of eggs are transfered from the refridgerator to the stove area. Upon applying each egg to the recipe, the empty shell is returned to the bench beside the stove. Once all eggs have been applied, the shells are placed in the rubbish bin.
They go in the compost bucket, which is small (half gallon, maybe?). If I forget to go grab it before I start cracking eggs, I throw the shells in the sink while I’m working, then put them in the compost bucket later.
I have never heard of putting them back in the carton.
Mine are flung into the sink then down the garbage disposal. The only eggs that remain in the carton are the boiled ones - the rest go into the egg holder in the fridge.
Back in the carton? In the garbage disposal??? :eek:
How far away are your garbage bins, two towns over?
My wife puts the shells back in the carton, and I want to shove them in her eyes every time I find them. I worry about the eggs spoiling, and since with cracked shells in the carton, there is exposed egg for the bacteria to feast on, I don’t want them that close to my breakfast.
Think about it. Do you put empty soup cans back in the cupboard? Then why would you put empty egg shells back in the carton?
Our disposal is closer to the stove than the garbage can is, and we get charged for the volume of trash we put out by the curb, so all organic garbage goes either down the disposal or into the compost.
Exactly. I was at a buddy’s house the other day and as he getting an egg out to fry I noticed that the carton was filled with empty shells. I almost gagged, it was disgusting.
I think the next time I use a condom, I’ll put it back in the wrapper, just for convenience.
We had a pay per bag trash program at our old house and have carried our habits to our new house… we recycle the cartons too and funky eggshells would make them non recycleable.
Also I don’t put food waste in the trash because it gets smelly.
For the geography of my kitchen the trash is in the cabinet to the right of the stove and the sink is across from the stove so the trash would be more convenient if I were so inclined.
Bawhahahahaaaaa. Too funny, Bruce_Daddy
I throw my icky opened egg shells away.
I put them back in the carton because that’s what mom used to do.
My wife thought it was funny when we moved in together, but now she does it too.
It’s somewhat convenient, but mostly every time I open up the carton, I just like to look back over all the devestation I have wrought and I think back to all the nice meals the eggs gave me.
Depending on the orientation of the used eggshell, sometimes its unclear whether its a whole egg or not, so it can be a fun game trying to guess before grabbing it.
I HAVE put them back into the carton before, but I don’t like to. I get a little creeped out by eggs anyway…they’re so…so…embryonic and all. Then when I see part of one on the counter or in the carton, I start thinking about if it were to become fertile at that exact moment, it would grow up to be a one-winged chick or a one-legged rooster or something, so I just put them in the garbage and wipe up the drips immediately. You can’t really do that with the carton, so you could, in my twisted mind, grow just a beak or something out of what lies at the bottom of the carton compartment.
Whenever I cook or bake, I either bring the trash can over to the counter, or I open up a paper grocery bag and dump the egg shells (or paper towels,wrappings, empty bottles, etc…) in there. It’s close, convenient and means that I’m never tempted to put the eggs back in the carton unless the carton is empty (or about to be empty because I’m going to use the remaining eggs for this one meal).
The used condoms just end up in the omlette like the eggs.
I don’t know if it’s true or not or why, but I was told by a guy from the Roto-Rooter service that putting egg shells down the disposal is a very bad idea. Cracked shells go either straight to the trash bin or in a pile on the counter beside the stove and from there to the trash. The only time they go in the carton is if I’m finishing off the last of the eggs in the carton.
I put them back in the carton while I’m cooking.. The eggshells get thrown in the trash can before I put the carton back in the refrigerator.
Yeah, that’s real entertainment. 
I put the shells in the trash. It’s easy. And it’s very, very rare that I add eggs directly to a cooking surface (I don’t like fried eggs) there’s no difference in cooking time. All the eggs go in the bowl, they’re scrambled, and then theyre put into the frying pan all at once.
If I’m baking, the eggs I’m going to use come out of the carton to be brought to room temperature first, so the carton isn’t readily available to put the eggs in anyway.
And add me to the list of folks who are grossed out by the idea of storing garbage in the fridge.
What amazes me is that I’ve lived my entire life without even the slightest hint that anybody ever, even once, thought of putting broken eggshells back in the carton.
It’s as though I’ve just been told that a percentage of men remove their penises at night before bed. I wouldn’t have even known they were detachable!
For me, once the egg is broken it isn’t usable, therefore it is trash or compost. Trash and compost don’t go in the fridge.
I had to ask my husband about this, because I’d never heard of eggshells being bad for a garbage disposal - and that’s where I always put mine. He sells disposals (and plumbing supplies), so he knows what they can handle.
He said the average home garbage disposal is quite capable of grinding up eggshells. The only things you should avoid are stringy things, like whole celery stalks and onion skins.
Just my 2 cents worth…