How to Compost at Home
- GMUHS Environmental Club
- Jan 6, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 24, 2021
By Olivia Wright
Composting at home can be a little daunting to those who have never composted before. Where do you start? What can you compost? Here we have a guide to composting at home.
How do I compost at home:
When composting at home, you can start a compost pile outside. This pile should be a good distance from your home and be in a place where the food can decompose. Many people use a bin or bucket to put the compost in, which can be used indoors or outside. You can keep this compost on your property as a source of nutrient rich soil, or you can drop off your food scraps at local gardens or other compost facilities, such as Grow Compost, the facility that GMUHS sends our compost to. For those that keep their compost at home, you can add dry sawdust to your compost or leave it to just food scraps.
What can be composted at home:
Generally, any food scraps can be composted, such as fruits, veggies, condiments, dressings, eggshells, and coffee grounds. Other organic matter such as plants or flowers can also be composted.
Composting meat and dairy:
Meat, dairy, seafood, and bones are technically compostable. The problem with composting these items is that they attract lots of insects and animals that you may not want to get into your compost. If you have compost outdoors, you might want to use a separate container indoors for the meat that you can send to a garden, instead of keeping the meat on your property. Today’s Homeowner suggests that “if scavengers are a problem, use a critter-proof enclosed system such as a tumbling composter or wormery.” Another solution is, “Anaerobic fermenting systems, such as Bokashi bins, use special bacteria in an airtight container. These types of composting systems can quickly and effectively break down meat and dairy scraps”.
Composting in winter:
Composting during the winter is completely possible. You may want to use a bin so that you can monitor your compost easily or keep your compost indoors. In general, you can treat winter compost the same as composting during any other time of the year. Covering your pile will keep rain and snow out and building a bin can also help to keep the internal temperature of your pile up. You should also, “turn your compost as frequently as possible. Add as much green material — kitchen scraps and the like — to keep whatever activity there is existent.” Turning your compost helps supply oxygen, control odor, and helps the compost decompose faster. You can turn your compost with a pitchfork or shovel.
Composting is important for the environment, as it helps cut down on the amount of waste that is put into landfills. As of July 2020, it is a law (Act 148) that all residents and businesses of Vermont compost their food scraps. If you are not comfortable composting at your own home just yet, you can send your compost to your transfer station or facility. Composting at home is intimidating at first, but with research and determination, composting at your house will become easier.
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