How to Compost at Home

Use this beginner’s guide to reduce food waste and turn your scraps into fertilizer.

Are you intimidated to start composting at home? If you answered yes, consider this: Even if you don’t compost, you’re already dealing with food waste. By not composting, you're just putting your food waste in the trash and stinking up your trash can, forcing you to take it out way more often. By setting up a simple home composting system, you’re doing your part to reduce food waste in the landfills — while reducing kitchen odors and creating a rich addition to soil for your garden and plants.

Food waste and organic material will decompose whether we intervene or not; what we can control is how quickly and efficiently this process happens. Over 50% of material sent to landfills is organic and compostable, and nearly 25% of the material found in landfills is food. Introducing a simple practice of home composting can have a positive impact on a global scale. Only 28% of people compost and 67% of people say they would if it was easier. This practical guide to composting makes it easy for everyone — from city dwellers to backyard gardeners and people who live in states that require composting. Currently, nine states have laws that mandate composting, including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Your city may offer municipal composting services if you live in one of these states.

In this guide, you’ll learn what items can and can’t be composted, how long it takes to turn food scraps into compost, how to create nutrient-rich soil, and how to make composting as simple as possible. Whether you have limited kitchen counter space, a small balcony, or a large backyard, we'll show you how to make composting an easy and rewarding part of your daily routine.

Composting 101

Composting is a natural process that turns organic material like kitchen scraps and yard waste into a dark, earthy-smelling material called compost. It’s an excellent way to recycle nutrients back into the soil and reduce food waste, as it’s basically turning your food scraps into plant food.

Bacteria, fungi, and animals, facilitate the breakdown of organic material in the wild. At home, we simply need to provide an environment where this aerobic decomposition can thrive, speeding up the process as much as possible. And it’s way easier than it sounds.

Choose your composting method

First, choose the method that best fits your lifestyle, space, and goals. Here are a few different approaches:

Local pickup services

If you're short on space or time, consider using a local compost pickup service. These services collect your food scraps and other compostable materials regularly and take care of the composting process off-site. They typically give you a five-gallon bucket and green compostable bags to collect your food scraps and hold for pickup. It’s a hassle-free way to contribute to composting without managing the process yourself. Plus, they’ll tell you exactly what you can and cannot compost, taking the guesswork out of it.

Countertop food waste recycler

A countertop recycler like the Lomi Bloom or Vitamix FoodCycler is an innovative solution for those without yard space. However, they’re not composters — rather than oxygen, they use heat and mechanical grinders to rapidly break down food waste into a soil-like consistency that can be mixed into soil for your garden or kept dry and dropped off at a local compost collector.

I have found that using the Lomi Bloom is a completely odor-free way to turn my food waste into a material that feels like a cross between soil and mulch. For those who like instant gratification, witnessing your food scraps turn into plant food in a matter of hours is rewarding. This is a fun option if you have kids, as it really demonstrates the idea of recycling food waste and feeding it back to the planet. If kitchen real estate is limited, it may not be a perfect choice, but it’s a sleek and aesthetically pleasing solution for dealing with food waste.

While the Lomi Bloom takes up a bit less counter space than the Vitamix FoodCycler, its smaller three-liter capacity forces me to run it more often. By comparison, the FoodCycler holds five liters of food waste and creates a nutrient-rich fertilizer that can be mixed into soil.

Backyard composting

This is an option if you have some outdoor space and don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty. You can choose from several types of setups.Closed bins are compact and contained; these bins are ideal for small yards or for keeping out pests. Tumblers are mounted on a frame to make turning the compost easy, which speeds up the decomposition process. If you have more space, you might opt for an open pile, which is just what it sounds like — a heap of composting materials that you manage on the ground.

Collect your composting materials

There are two types of composting materials: greens and browns. Greens are nitrogen-rich materials like vegetable scraps, fruit waste, and coffee grounds, and browns are carbon-rich materials like dried leaves, twigs, and cardboard.

This OXO countertop bin is an easy way to collect food waste. It’s a breeze to wash, easy to empty, and zero-fuss. Just add the scraps right into the bin as you chop, peel, and prep vegetables — it couldn’t be easier. We suggest dumpling your compost bin regularly but adding old newspaper or a paper towel sheet to the top of the bucket will keep away fruit flies and odor. Once the bin fills up, empty it into your 5-gallon bucket for pick-up, your countertop recycler, or bring it to your outdoor pile. Rinse the bin, and repeat the process. If you live in a warmer climate and a countertop bucket won’t work for you, you can stash your food scraps in a freezer bag or sealed bucket and store them in the freezer. The food scraps will solidify, creating a zero-mess situation.

If you’re making a backyard pile, start with a layer of browns, then add a layer of greens. Try to balance about three parts brown to one part green. As you add materials, mix or turn them every few weeks to help aerate the pile, which speeds up the composting process.

What to compost

This list will vary depending on your method. Pick-up services will provide specific do’s and don’ts, countertop food recyclers have limitations, and backyard piles will be better suited without meat scraps and bones, oils, and cooked foods. Here are some general guidelines:

These are compostable

• Eggshells

• Coffee grounds and paper filters

• Paper tea bags (no staples)

• All fruit and vegetable scraps

• Meat scraps and animal bones (check on this with your local pick-up!)

• Cooked food

• Fish and seafood

• Dairy

• Nutshells

• Food-soiled paper towels and napkins, as long as they have not been used with cleaning products

• Small amounts of cooking oil

• Hair and fur

• Green compost bags

These are non-compostable

• Produce stickers

• Pet waste

• Herbicide-treated plants, grass, and yard waste

How to maintain and use your compost

Your compost should be moist but not too wet. If you’re maintaining a backyard pile, aerate it regularly by turning it to speed up decomposition. If it smells, add more browns; if it’s too dry, add more greens or a bit of water.

Depending on which method you choose, your food scraps will become plant food in as little as five hours, or as long as six months. When I use the Eco-Express mode on my Lomi Bloom, I have material that is ready to be mixed into soil in less than five hours. If you’re maintaining a backyard pile, the material at the bottom of the pile should be dark, crumbly, and ready to use in your garden beds or pots within three to six months, making it easy to grow more food, and start the cycle all over again.

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.