Why Compost and How To Compost at Home

This week is International Compost Awareness Week. Yes, that’s really a thing! So it seems to be a great week to talk all about compost. You might have heard that composting is a good thing to do. But why? And where do you begin with composting at home? For everything you need to know read on.

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Why Compost?

Let’s start with why you should start composting. Here are 4 ways composting is a really good (and green) thing to do.

1. It reduces the amount of waste going to landfill

We waste a lot of food, and the majority of it is thrown away with the rest of our rubbish and then taken to a landfill site. You might assume that food will decompose so it doesn’t really matter where it goes, but you’d be wrong. Landfills are not designed to aid decomposition.

2. You’re helping to reduce harmful emissions

Landfills let off an awful lot of nasties into the air like methane. Some waste is incinerated which releases carbon dioxide. So anything you can do to reduce your household waste is a good thing with regard to climate change.

3. Composting is very beneficial to your garden

The compost you create at home will help insects and bugs thrive in your garden. If you can encourage more insects into your garden you’re helping biodiversity. If you ‘grow your own’, then you’ll have some healthy organic veggies to eat. And you really should be eating organic food anyway.

4. It might save you money (if you have a garden)

If you’re not making your own compost you’ll probably buy some from a garden centre. The problem with this, apart from the fact that your own is likely to be better, is that buying compost costs you money.

5. You’ll buy less peat based compost

Peat needs to stay in the ground, for various different reasons, but peat based compost is the most commonly found in garden centres. Make your own compost and peat can be better protected. Or just make sure you buy peat free compost.

How To Compost at Home

What you need:

• Find somewhere shaded for your compost bin / pile.
• It’s better to place the compost on soil, but if you have to use concrete or a patio then make sure you add soil to the compost.
• A bin will make compost a bit quicker than a pile but both work.

Note that larger compost bins tend to be better than small ones. Any type of bin can work as long as it allows for drainage and for air to get in. They just have to retain heat and keep rain out.

What to do:

• Make sure you have a good mixture of materials (see information about ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ below). A good mixture contains between 25-50% of ‘greens’ and the rest of ‘browns’.
• You do need to mix the compost every now and then (at least once a month is good) to encourage air to get in and ensure it isn’t too wet or dry. (Just add more greens or browns as necessary)

It will be ready after 6 months to 2 years. You know it’s ready when it’s dark brown and resembles soil.

Composting is easier if you have a garden but it is possible to make compost when you live in an apartment (Read Make Your Own Indoor Compost Bin).

What Can You Compost?

I always used to think that any food matter could be thrown on the compost heap, but this is not entirely true. Things you can compost include:

• Vegetable peelings
• Fruit
• Tea leaves & coffee grounds
• Grass cuttings
• Small branches and twigs
• Dry leaves
• Scrunched up paper
• Cardboard (like egg boxes)
• Sawdust* (see what not to include as well)

All of the above items create a good mix of ‘greens’ (e.g. fruit and veg, coffee grounds and tea leaves, animal manure) and ‘browns’ (e.g. grass cuttings, pruned plants, cardboard and paper). If it seems too dry add greens, if it’s too wet add browns.

Top Tip: Before adding anything, chop it into smaller pieces.

What Not To Put In Compost

• Onions
• Fruit Peels (citrus fruits)
• Teabags and Coffee Bags
• Cat or Dog Poo
• Nappies (not even biodegradable ones)
• Meat or dairy
• Fish
• Cooked food
• Shiny Paper / Cardboard
• Sawdust from painted, varnished or stained wood

Animal manure is a great thing to add unless its cat or dog poo (basically the poo from any carnivorous animal can contain harmful parasites). The ‘waste’ from any chickens, horses, rabbits or cows you have are a welcome addition.

Onions and citrus peel are a bit too acidic and can kill worms. Teabags and coffee bags often contain plastic, so just split the bag and empty the contents rather than adding the whole bag. Shiny or glossy paper will normally contain toxins that you don’t want in there.

Avoid adding meat, fish and dairy mainly because it will make your compost pile very smelly, which in turn will attract vermin and possibly bears (if you live near them, obviously not in the UK). Experienced composters do add these items but you have to know what you’re doing. (Read How to Compost Cooked Foods Meat and Dairy).

So Why Compost?

It’s the natural way to recycle. Nature always does it best and we should stop trying to improve on nature because we’ve messed up pretty badly so far. Home composting allows your food waste to decompose using bacteria and fungi. The compost you buy tends to be a quicker process, using machinery which is needed to heat the compost and it doesn’t use fungal decomposition. So now you know why you should be doing it, all you have to do is get started!

Happy International Compost Awareness Week!

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Sources

• Why Composting is The Greenest Thing You Can Do.
• How to Make a Compost Heap.
• Royal Horticultural Society.

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