Melbourne

Fully endorse the paper tray/wrap trick. Do something similar myself. I have an old crappy colander in the 2nd kitchen sink, lined with a piece of paper towel. All peelings go in there, plus tea leaves tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells (crushed) cooked & raw bones etc. If it was once alive, it goes into the colander. Once a day the contents are wrapped up and taken out to the compost heap and buried in the top layer. Top layer of compost heap is mostly grass clippings, which are very effective at removing smell. When compost is turned (after mowing), all the paper packages get broken up and mixed in and a new hat of clippings goes on top. The worms love it. I don't peel garlic much - just smash it flattish with the flat of my heavy kitchen knife, then slip off the skins and chop/pound it smaller. Only peel garlic if I'm using the whole cloves, and do this by snapping off the dry lid where the garlic meets the bulb, then pulling off a strip of peel from there and the rest of the clove is easy from then on with a thumbnail.
Also fully endorse washing knife in hot water, then drying immediately and putting it away in a wooden knife block. I also sharpen it with a steel immediately before food prep, and get it professionally sharpened when the steel isn't enough. Sharp knives are safer than blunt ones. Especially if slicing tomatoes or anything slippery.
Capsicums, I hold the fruit upright with the stalk end on top, and slice off the cheeks all around, then toss the stalk, middle and base into the colander in one piece. Most of the seeds stick to the middle section and any on the cheeks can be rinsed off or ticked off with the end of the knife into the colander. If roasting caps, I will cut around the stalk, twist and remove the middle bit that way.
I don't peel spuds usually. Not even for mashed potato. Pumpkin is easily peeled once cooked - raw is another matter. Just steam pieces for 10 mins then the hard skin slips off easily.
There's a wonderful product in jars that is a 50/50 mixture of minced garlic and minced ginger - I use this for curries to combine the fried spices into a curry paste - bloody wonderful stuff and I strongly recommend it. When I see it at Aldi or Colesworth I stock up. Can be used to make a nice variation on garlic bread too.