How to Start Composting, Wherever You Live

Even if you’re committed to eating kitchen scraps, you likely have extra food to get rid of, from carrot tops to egg shells to moldy berries. Composting is one of our favorite ways to reduce food waste, and it produces nutrient-rich organic material that will help your garden thrive. It takes a little know-how, but getting started with composting is easier than you might think.

Composting Methods

When you're ready to start composting at home, you have plenty of options. First, you’ll need a composter. Composters are traditionally kept outdoors. But there are indoor options, too, including bokashi (which relies on a bacterial culture to kickstart the composting process) and worm bins (which use, you guessed it, worms). If you’re willing to splurge, we’ve had great results testing a couple of indoor composter machines: the Lomi Classic ($390 at Amazon) and the Vitamix FoodCycler ($600 at Amazon).

At its most basic, an outdoor composter can be an open-topped bin on the ground. Compost requires turning – moving it to another area of the bin or into a separate compartment – as it decomposes. This allows you to continue adding fresh scraps to the bin without disrupting your half-finished compost. Other outdoor options include tumblers and closed bins, both of which can help keep out critters like rats and raccoons. If you have an outdoor composter, we recommend keeping a compost bin in the kitchen to collect scraps for fewer trips outside.

How Do You Start Composting?

While there are a few tips and tricks for starting a compost pile (see our expert advice below), there's something else to keep in mind too, which is to start small and simple. A little planning can help make your composting practice easy and fun.

First, decide where you want your composter to be located (and whether you plan to keep it in one place or will need to move it later). Compost does best in part sun — full sun can make it too hot, while full shade can keep it too cold and wet. Then, decide what kind of compost setup makes the most sense for you. Are you OK with turning it by hand, for example, or would a tumbler with a hand crank be easier? 

Finally, if you have multiple people in your household, think about who is in charge of filling and turning the compost. And, if you have an indoor compost bin, too, decide how often you'll empty it (and who wants to empty it) or if you'll only empty it when it's full.

What to Compost

A good compost pile consists of two main ingredients: browns and greens. Between the two, your compost will stay healthy and full of beneficial nutrients and microorganisms to feed your garden. 

• Browns: Browns help feed the microorganisms in your compost pile so they have plenty of energy to happily decompose your kitchen and yard waste. Browns include fallen dry leaves, wood chips and pellets, wine corks, and cut-up brown boxes without paint or tape, according to Malcolm Benson of Grape Roots Urban Farming Project. Paper is safe to include, though glossy paper (like magazines) is better off in the recycling bin, as it doesn't break down easily and is often coated in plastics. 
• Greens: Greens provide moisture as well as needed nutrients. Most of your kitchen scraps belong to this category, as do grass clippings, fresh plant matter, and moldy produce. Just be sure to remove stickers from fruits and vegetables, according to Benson. 

How to Start a Compost Pile

Once you know what to put in your compost pile, it's time to start, well, building a pile.  Layer your browns and greens together and turn your pile regularly, adding water if it seems dry. If you're using a compost tumbler, turn it every few days or at least every few weeks to keep everything incorporated. 

The ratio you want to follow is (roughly) 50% browns and 50% greens, but the exact amount is a bit more intuitive. If you notice your compost is especially wet or smelly, add more browns. If it seems dry and sluggish, try adding more greens. It can be easy to get too caught up in "the right ratio," when it's more about finding what works for where you live, according to organic farmer Jason Roland.

"Keep adding and turning your compost to introduce air and keep those microbes moving and happy," Roland says. "Think of browns as dead or dry material, and think of greens as fresh plant matter. Instead of browns and greens, I like to think of it as dry or wet material."

Composters and Compost Bins We Love

EPICA Countertop Compost Bin Kitchen

Compost bins are kept in the kitchen to collect and store scraps as you make them, saving you trips out to the compost. In our tests, we found we only needed to empty most bins every few days. Our favorite is the EPICA, with its sleek, attractive design that's easy to clean. The lid holds a replaceable, and very effective, charcoal filter to keep odors away, too. Even with lots of onions and garlic inside, this bin won't smell.

Bamboozle Food Compost Bin

The Bamboozle is another winner. We love the aesthetic (all the color choices!), but it's also easy to fill and sturdy enough to not tip over. The biggest surprise? This bin is biodegradable, but still durable and even dishwasher-safe. 

Black+Decker 40-Gallon Tumbling Composter

While a compost bin stores your scraps until it's time to take them outside, a composter does the dirty work and actually produces the compost. Composters come in a range of styles, sizes, and prices, so you can find one that fits your space and budget. Our favorite is the Black+Decker: a durable tumbler with two chambers so you can fill one while the other cures. Its handle makes it easy to turn, and the secure sliding doors keep odors in and critters out. 

Greenes Fence 172-Gallon Outdoor Stationary Composter

Have a lot of yard and kitchen waste to compost? Try this open-topped bin from Greenes Fence. Made with untreated cedar, it’s sturdy, attractive, and holds a lot of compost. Plus, you can get add-on kits to expand your composting setup as much as you need.

All Seasons 5-Gallon Black Compost Bin 

If you want to go the bokashi route, we love the All Seasons starter kit. It's usable indoors (perfect for apartments), composts quickly, and gives you rich compost tea as well as rich, crumbly compost. 

FAQs

How does a compost bin work? 

"A compost bin works by keeping your composting materials contained to one area so that they compost faster than if they were just decomposing naturally on the ground. A bin also holds moisture and warmth which helps the decomposition happen faster," says Roland. 

How long does composting take?

This depends on how much material you're composting, according to Benson. "If you continue to add material, it extends the time. If you are diligent, it can decompose into the 'good stuff' in less than 30 days," he says. That diligence depends on how often the pile is turned, but also on other factors. According to Roland, these factors include temperature, moisture, contents of the pile, and how often it's been turned. "But a good rule of thumb for a maintained pile would be around three to five months for any given compost to be finished and ready to use. If this is a static, 'sit it and forget it' pile, it could be up to a year and a half before it is ready to use," Roland says. 

What can you do with your compost?

"We use our compost as 'seasoning' to mix into our soil to provide nutrients to our produce at the beginning of each planting season," Benson says. For starters, you can add compost to planting holes or spread it over the surface of plants, which is called topdressing, according to Roland. "Trench it underneath new plantings, make compost teas and extracts, screen it for a particular size," he says. 

Can you compost in an apartment?

Yes! "You can have a small compost bin, a bokashi system where you can also compost your meat, dairy, and such, and you can also have a small vermicomposting bin where the worms do the work for you," says Roland. "You can compost in a simple 5-gallon bucket. The choices are endless, and you can combine them. It really just depends on what you would like your end product to be." If you have a porch or patio, you can even layer browns and greens in a 13-gallon trash can and set it out on your porch to compost, according to Benson.

What are the benefits of composting?

"You are keeping waste out of the landfill while also creating diverse microbial and fungal networks to feed your soil," says Roland. "This is a broad question, but the best answer is that composting is creating life – by piling up a bunch of stuff that would otherwise be thrown away."

Our Expertise

• Julia Skinner, Ph.D., is a writer, avid gardener, and member of the City of Atlanta's Tree Conservation Commission, who educates the public on food waste reduction and fermentation through her business, Root. She is passionate about native plants and about enhancing soil health using organic methods.
• Jason Roland is an organic farmer based in Lexington, South Carolina. His farm, Organically Roland, runs two seasonal CSAs full of delicious and diverse veggies.
• Malcolm Benson runs Grape Roots Urban Farming Project in Atlanta, Georgia.