No Such Thing as a No-Waste Birdseed?

Fiction: There are many “no waste, no mess” birdseed mixes available.

Fact: The only true “no waste” seed is sunflower meats (a.k.a. hulled sunflower). “No waste” means that the birds eat every part of the seed or mix so that there is nothing left over or “wasted”. So, any seed that has a shell, or any mix that contains seeds with shells, cannot by definition be “no waste” because the birds do not eat the birdseed shells. Some companies market their mixes as no waste/no mess products even though they contain Safflower (which has a shell), or Niger (also has a shell), or even Oil sunflower (complete with shell of course). Beware of these misleading advertisements or you’re sure to be disappointed when you have to clean up the leftovers.