A Beginners Guide To Composting At Home
Did you know that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) discovered about 30% of the household waste we discard could be converted into useful compost instead of being piled up with the other non-biodegradable waste in landfills? With the state of the environment and climate change looming, composting at home has become more of a necessity than a choice. With this simple guide on how to compost at home, we can look at ways you can make it work around your our own homes. After all, the preservation of the environment is quite important to us all :)
Composting can occur on its own over a period of time, but, with human involvement, the process can be sped up for more significant benefits; what’s more? You can do it right at home! In this post, we will shed more light on how to make compost at home for beginners, and you will be a pro in no time.
Why Should I Compost?
Do It For Our Environment
The waste from your kitchen and lawns make up roughly 25% of the overall waste in landfills. Although this waste is degradable over time, when they are mixed up with other waste, they do not break down easily and become incredibly packed up, thus limiting oxygen flow. When oxygen is limited, the decomposition process becomes delayed, letting the organic waste emit methane which, as we know, is an incredibly toxic greenhouse gas. Any increase in methane emission is bad for the environment. We are all reminded of this when we read about global warming. And since landfills are incredibly inhospitable, it is very hard for waste to breakdown properly, preventing the release of methane, without the necessary amount of oxygen.
By creating our own compost, we are reducing our carbon footprint in many ways. Not only do we delay food waste from decomposing that in turn produces methane, but we are reducing the number of rubbish trucks on our roads that need to serve us. After all, our rubbish trucks also run on fossil fuels. Plus, aside from being more gentle on the environment, compost serves as excellent manure for your plants and reduces or eliminates the need for artificial fertilisers. So, what’s a great way to divert some organic waste? By Composting at home. Not to worry, we’ll show you how!
How to make Compost at Home
It is important to note that whether you live on a farm, house, bungalow or an apartment, you can definitely compost. All you need are bins (if you choose to compost inside your home) and some gear which might include pitchforks, small shovels, water hose, gloves, wheelbarrow. There are two significant ways to compost at home;
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From Your Garden: Choose a dry part of your garden, preferably one close to a water source and under a little shade. Add your green and brown materials as you collect them and ensure you shred the bigger ones. Ensure that they remain well moistened to speed up the breakdown process. When you have established the compost pile, mix the green waste and grass together into the pile and bury vegetable waste under it. You can choose to cover your pile with a tarp if you own a pet, so it doesn’t get destroyed. You could also try to build a compost bin from old pallets, make a quick and easy compost bin, or purchase a ready-made one for outdoors. When the bottom of your compost pile turns dark, then it is ready to use. The composting process can take up to 2 months to a year to be complete.
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In Your House: If you don’t have enough space to make a compost pile in the backyard, you can easily compost within your home with the use of a compost bin. You can purchase one from any hardware or gardening store near you (great article here for recommendations- obviously we love the stainless steel ones). Since this bin will be inside your home, you have to pay extra attention to what you put in it to prevent a bad odour and manage it properly, so flies and rodents are not attracted to it. With this method, your compost should be ready for use in about five weeks.
What should go in a Compost Pile
To successfully compost at home, you need to know exactly what should go into your pile and what shouldn’t. Items such as our Ecoconut dish brush is fully compostable at the end of its life, and we will try and let you know anything else you buy from us that can be composted Items like used tea bags, newspapers, leaves, sawdust, cardboard, wood chips, eggshells, hair, fur, ashes, cotton wool, animal bedding, raw fruit and vegetable trimmings. On the other hand, items like glass, scraps of metal, plastic, animal bones, human waste, cooked food etc. should not be included in your compost pile.
Make sure you don't add any of your pet's poop to the pile though - this is something we get asked quite a lot. Even if you use compostable dog poop bags, always add this to your usual waste bin.
This is just a small list and far from exhaustive, so be sure to check before you send it away to landfill!
Benefits of Composting
Composting from the comfort of your home makes it incredibly easy to monitor what goes in and out of your pile. As earlier stated, composting has a lot of valuable benefits. Besides reducing methane emissions from wastes in landfills, it can drastically reduce your overall carbon footprint and boost the growth of beneficial bacteria for the decomposition of organic matter.
Well finished compost smells incredible, almost earthy and does wonders for your plants or vegetable garden without the use of any artificial additives or fertilisers. Organic plant food, just how we like it.
Composting from home is incredibly easy with the right tools and information. It is a great way to do your part to preserve our environment and planet and also keep your plants healthy and robust in the process. The entire process might take a while to reach completion, but, the results will be worth the wait. So, if you have always wanted to give it a go but never quite knew how, take a little time to familiarise yourself again with these instructions and give it a go for yourself.
Goodluck!
