Alright, friends, it’s time for Composting 101. Let’s start at the basics, and then who knows . . . maybe if you’re lucky we’ll wind up talking about composting toilets. 🙂
What is Composting?
According to Wikipedia, compost is “organic matter that has been decomposed in a process called composting.”
In normal people’s terms, compost is just organic waste that goes through a process (the process of “composting”) which makes it eligible to be used as an all-natural soil enricher and fertilizer.
The process of composting is when the organic matter — which is made up of things like food scraps and plant matter — decomposes and creates something called humus (AKA “Black Gold”) that is rich in nutrients and helps nourish gardens, landscapes, farms, and more.
This process can take months to even years, and actually requires quite a scientific approach, as successful compounding requires following methodical steps and achieving the right balance of carbon, nitrogen, water, and oxygen.
That may sound complicated but stick with me. Luckily today there are many grassroots organizations, community programs, and companies who are dedicated to handling all the science-y stuff while you just have to fill up a bucket and drop it off somewhere (we’ll get there in just a minute).
Why Compost? (What are the benefits of composting?)
When my wife and I began composting in early 2020, we did it because we hated the idea of continuously throwing away food scraps. We cook a lot and it just felt so terrible to be tossing out peels, leftovers, fruits and veggies that may have “turned” before we got to eat them, etc. After seeing our local composting program here in Chicago (Healthy Soil Compost) at several farmers’ markets and shops throughout town, we decided to learn more about the benefits and also begin composting ourselves.
So, what are the benefits of composting? Well, as I mentioned — one of the big benefits is that you are repurposing what would otherwise be plain old food waste (according to the EPA, food scraps and yard waste make up 30% of what we throw away!). This “recycling” reduces waste by giving it a second act where it can give back and help other things grow in its place. Circle of life, baby!
Other benefits are that compost (AKA the recycled organic matter) is excellent for soil nutrients and health, acts as a natural fertilizer by increasing plants’ natural resistance to disease and pests, reduces methane emissions from landfills, and allows healthy (and important) fungi and bacteria to thrive. (Sources: EPA and Bonnie Plants)
So all in all, when you compost you are lowering your carbon footprint, creating less food waste in landfills, and helping contribute to healthy, nutrient dense soil, plants, fruits and vegetables. This is super important work because according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), sustainable soil management could increase up to 58% more food!
How Do You Start Composting? (Composting Methods)
Alright so now I’m sure you’re convinced to start composting right? 🙂 Well if so, let’s review a couple ways that you can get started with composting right in your own home, backyard or community!
Community Compost Programs
First of all, I will reiterate that although the entire lifecycle of composting can be sort of daunting and scientific, many communities (and most major cities) have programs and organizations set up to handle all of that complex stuff.
For instance, as I mentioned, here in Chicago we use a service called Healthy Soil Compost. This is an awesome program because they take care of everything — the only thing we are responsible for is filling up our bucket (and using compostable bin liners), and then residents can either bring their stash to a designated drop-off location for collection, or sign up for a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly pickup service. That’s the one we do, and it’s super easy — we just set our bucket outside out front door every two weeks, and they come by in a cool van to pick it up and give us a new bucket liner!
Now of course I know all of you don’t live in Chicago, but that’s just an example of how easy it can be to get started. For you, I’d recommend going to Google and simply searching something like:
- “find compost near me”
- “compost drop off near me”
- “community compost near me”
Chances are one of these searches will give you a whole list of community compost programs or drop-off areas. You can also use the site FindAComposter.com to search your local area for more qualified composting facilities.
Many of these programs will offer you a bucket to get started with, but if not, you can easily find a bucket for composting at places like Home Depot or your local garden shop. Heck, even places like Target and the Container Store have composting bins and composting bags! So chances are you’ll be able to find your materials somewhere nearby.
Just keep in mind that simply using compostable bags / trash liners does not mean that your food waste will be composted and properly recycled if thrown out with the rest of your garbage. As previously mentioned, composting is a delicate process that requires well-suited conditions and constant tending to (as compost needs to be “turned” every so often to maintain the correct ratio of moisture and oxygen).
Backyard Composting
For those of you who have backyards or garden plots and want to take your composting to the next level, you can actually do composting in your very own outdoor space (I hope to eventually do this when my wife and I buy a home, but we’ll see — finding a home with sufficient green space in Chicago is challenging!).
I think this is such an awesome idea because you are becoming even more self-reliant, connecting with the Earth in a more intimate way, and you’re also lowering your carbon footprint even more by not having to drive your compost to a drop-off location, or have someone drive to you to come pick it up. Really there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either of these choices (again, this is what we currently do!) but it’s just another consideration and benefit to doing your own composting in your backyard.
Ok so how to set up backyard composting? Well if I’m being honest, while I have researched the topic quite a bit, I don’t have hands-on experience with this myself. I have a couple of friends who have done it for years, but as someone who has never had a backyard of his own, I just haven’t had the opportunity to get my hands dirty (yes, pun intended :)).
So, since I never like speaking about things that I don’t have direct experience with, for this section I am going to offer a couple really excellent resources to help aid you in learning more about backyard composting.
- First up is this Backyard Composting Tip Sheet from the US Department of Agriculture. This may seem a little dry at first, but it gives you so many good details!
- Then there’s a bit more brief description of how to compost at home from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is definitely more of a high-level overview, but for those of you who already have an idea about composting, it might be enough to get you started.
- This guide on “How to create your own backyard compost pile” from Bonnie Plants is probably the most approachable, and gives you a nice outline of getting started with composting. Pay particular attention to the sections about balancing “browns and greens,” as this is a really important step of successful composting!
Indoor Composting (great for city or apartment dwellers)
Indoor composting is a great alternative for those who are really wanting to enter into the composting process themselves, but may not have access to a viable community program or backyard/garden of their own. And while it may sound gross to compost inside your apartment or indoor space, I can assure you it’s really not! Despite many folks’ hesitation with letting food waste decompose in your home, if properly tended it can actually be a fairly clean activity, with very few smells!
This is because the way that you compost is A) Fully covered, and B) Creating a completely symbiotic, nourishing environment that does not actually smell — particularly because with composting, you are not including animal waste or meat products which do tend to rot and smell.
You can think of it as when your gut is in great health with a balanced microbiome and flourishing flora, your bowel movements don’t really smell (I know, many of us have probably not experienced this, but it’s true!) It’s the same way with a well-balanced compost bin — because it will be flourishing, it should actually give off a pleasant, earthy smell vs. a putrid smell covered with flies. 🙂
Now, indoor composting is another one where I would likely need an entire post just to cover the process, so once again I am going to link to two fantastic resources that will walk you through getting started with indoor composting from start to finish:
- This first guide comes from the EPA itself, and covers a specific type of indoor composting called “vermicomposting.” This is probably not for the squeamish as it does use small bin worms to help break down the organic matter and create a great environment for your indoor compost. I assure you it’s perfectly safe and is actually the better of the methods of indoor composting!
- This second guide covers two types of indoor composting methods: vermicomposting and also aerobic composting, which does not use worms. 🙂
- A third type of indoor composting is called Bokashi composting, which is an anaerobic process that does not involve turning your pile, and is suitable for composting kitchen scraps on a smaller scale (this is basically what we do since we just have a composting bucket and throw kitchen scraps and some paper in it).
This is also a super fun infographic from gardensthatmatter.com, which I am totally digging right now! Take a look as it can help you determine which composting method is right for you:
What Can Be Composted?
Whether you’ve decided to use a community composting program, or go on an indoor or outdoor composting adventure yourself, the types of organic matter that can be composted will stay pretty much the same.
In general, compost matter is typically broken into two categories: Browns and Greens.
“Browns” include things like: dead leaves, pine needles, branches, twigs, newspaper
“Greens” include things like: vegetable and fruit waste, coffee grounds, grass clippings
Both are needed, along with water, to create a sustainable and fruitful compost pile. This graphic is simple yet helpful in understanding the types of things that can and cannot be composted:
In Sum
Whew! We’ve covered a lot — I told you this would be the “ultimate” guide to composting. 🙂
Hopefully you’ve learned something about this awesome process, like how to get started, the benefits of composting, and the different methods of composting. As we continue to live in a time when we are taking far more from the Earth than giving, it’s so important to contribute in whatever way we can. In this way we can play our part in helping to restore the balance of soil, organic matter, and reduce emissions.
Composting is a way to give back, to enrich our natural environment, and even to have some fun in the process (I bet kids would love getting their hands dirty and helping). And today, composting is more accessible than ever, even for those of us who don’t have a green thumb, or a backyard or garden, or the time to micromanage a compost pile. We can partner with our local communities and take advantage of programs and drop-off/pick-up services being offered.
And with that, I wish you Happy Composting!
PS – I promised you composting toilets, so…here’s some more information on composting toilets if you want to go down that route on your own 😉