A beginner’s guide to apartment composting

Composting in your apartment is a lot easier than you might think! There are so many options to choose from; all you have to do is find the solution that best aligns with your lifestyle.

We’re all aware that companies, not individuals, are the biggest producers of waste. But it doesn’t hurt to re-learn ways of life that form relationships with nature.

Just like learning to garden, creating a working compost system can be a process. The first time I tried to compost in my apartment, I woke to worms crawling all over our kitchen floor.

Dealing with organic waste, much less a crowd of curious worms, is already a difficult task for most. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, gently placed the lost worms back in their home and got to work closing the gaps in my worm bin.

If you’re not a fan of bugs, vermicomposting might not be the composting method for you. I’ve personally learned to enjoy looking after the worms and respect their role in maintaining balance.

Even though we’ve moved out of our apartment, a little worm bin still sits underneath the shade canopy of our walnut tree.
If you’re struggling to find a composting system that works in your space, this list is for you.

Types of composting

1. Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting uses red wiggler worms to turn food waste into materials you can use in your garden.

The products of this process are called “worm tea” and “worm castings.” Worm tea is the natural liquid fertilizer that is produced when worm castings exist in a moist environment. Worm castings are the nutrient-rich worm manure that many gardeners use to feed their plants.

Add the results of your at-home composting to houseplants and share these valuable soil amendments with your local community.

Your new worm companions will need a place to live once you’ve chosen to vermicompost. Pre-made worm bins are available online and through local nonprofits. There are also many blueprints for making a cheap DIY worm bin with buckets.

Create the right environment for your worms by adding 30% nitrogen-rich and 70% carbon-rich materials. Nitrogen-rich materials include most vegetables and fruit, or any food scrap that is moist and soft. Carbon-rich materials are items such as straw, shredded paper, cardboard or dry leaves.

There are some constraints with this type of composting. If your household consumes a lot of meat, citrus or foods in the allium family, another form of composting might be a better option. Feeding your worms the wrong food can make your bin smell and acidify the soil.

2. Bokashi composting

Bokashi composting is a method that ferments your food waste by combining it with an inoculant containing microorganisms. Wheat germ or wheat bran with molasses are popular inoculants. In a bokashi system, waste breaks down in a matter of weeks. You can also compost meat and dairy.

You can create a DIY bokashi bucket or purchase a starter kit for your food scraps. It will need to be air tight with a nozzle to release liquid.

Bokashi composting is an anaerobic process, which means it needs to occur without oxygen. Only open your bucket when adding layers of food scraps and bran.

One downside of bokashi composting is that it doesn’t create a finished product. You cannot use your fermented bokashi compost straight out of the bucket. Once your food scraps have fully fermented after about two weeks, bury them or toss them in a traditional compost heap to finish the process.

3. Electronic composting

If the methods above seem time-consuming or laborious, electronic composting might be your way to go. Composting electronically involves purchasing a food recycler to put your food waste through an intense cycle. This process creates finished compost within a few days. You can even throw meat, bones and processed foods into an electric composter.

However, these systems are still relatively expensive and compact. If you produce a large amount of food waste, you may need more than one system for your household. Food recyclers can also cost about $400-700 per unit.

4. Municipal compost

Check with your local government to see if they provide a city-wide composting system. In some cities like Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and Boulder, Colorado you can put out food scraps with your trash collection.

For cities that do not currently compost, make it known to your elected officials that composting is a service you’re invested in. There are many online guides that take you step-by-step through this process.

As composting becomes more accessible, the hope is that more local governments will incorporate compost collection into their waste management programs.

Frequently asked questions

So many misconceptions about at-home composting exist and can be barriers to finding solutions to our global waste problem. Some of the information below may give you answers to your composting questions.

1. Why should I compost at-home?

For those of us who have the emotional space and physical ability, it’s important to do our part as beings who inhabit this planet. When you compost at home, you divert organic waste from the landfill which would otherwise produce methane when decomposing.

Composting is also about becoming a part of Earth’s natural cycles. As our food decomposes, a new, valuable resource is created.

2. What can I do with my decomposed food waste?

The results of composting are nutrient-rich materials that would be a great addition to the soil of your houseplants or container garden.

If you feel overwhelmed with compost byproducts, try contacting community gardens in your area. You can often find their information by searching on local government websites.

If you have a friend who is into gardening, offering them worm castings or bokashi tea can start a great reciprocal relationship. As a gardener, I always need soil amendments.

3. Won't the compost smell in your home?

As long as your compost bin is healthy and balanced it will smell earthy and neutral. Odd odors are often a sign of a problem within your bin. Adding the wrong food scraps, having inadequate drainage and an uneven mix of nitrogen and carbon are common problems that are easily fixed.

4. Can’t food just decompose in landfills?

Organic waste in landfills breaks down very slowly, if at all, due to a lack of oxygen. When food scraps break down in these conditions, they release methane, a gas that contributes to climate change and pollution. This is why composting at home significantly lowers the impact of personal waste production on the environment.

5. Can I put all forms of organic matter in compost?

As a rule of thumb, non-citrus fruits and vegetables, eggshells, newspaper, coffee grounds and cardboard are always OK to compost. Other forms of organic waste like processed foods, dairy, meat, citrus peels and onions can be composted depending on the method used.

Author Autumn Sevy