4 Basic Ways

As New Yorkers, we generate A LOT of trash. Whether we're at home, school, or work, we have a lot of trash (4.5 pounds per person, per day), most of which that can be composted.

So how do you compost, you ask?

There are 4 basic ways to compost indoors:

1. NatureMill Indoor Composter

"This is the Queen of indoor composting… This baby automates the whole composting process and eliminates user error to “recycle its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life… NatureMill uses 5 kwh / month of energy – or about $0.50/month – less than a garbage truck would burn in diesel fuel to haul the same waste. It is made from recycled and recyclable materials. ”

Okay, so it seems silly to pay $300+ on this machine, especially since you can just make one, but this is fully automated, so it's really good for those who forget to do the simple task of watering a plant.

2. Bokashi

“Bokashi (Japanese for “fermented organic matter”) is a method of intensive composting“– and it’s supercool– basically, the bokashi (a dry mixture most commonly made from bran, molassas, water and “effective microorganisms (EM)”) ferments your food scraps in an almost odor-free way– the process is reported to smell like apple cider vinegar!"

Key Words: ODOR FREE! 

3. Vermicomposting

“Vermicomposting is the most common form of indoor composting: red wriggler worms are contained inside a ventilated bin and used to break down organic matter into rich soil. You can either purchase a ready-made system or DIY your own for a very low cost. The bin can be small enough to fit underneath your sink and thus take up very little space. Once you overcome the squick factor of the wrigglers, vermicomposting is an incredibly efficient way to produce ready-to-use soil with no use of electricity or costly additives.”

Okay, seriously, how cool is that?

4. Let Someone Else Compost For You

“This one almost seems like cheating, but it is composting nonetheless. Collect your kitchen scraps and drop them off at a local community garden, farm, farmers market, co-op, or greenmarket which is set up with a collection program, and they’ll do the actual composting for you. You can keep your scraps in a bag in the freezer and drop it off periodically– this delays the decomposition process (no smell!) and also kills any fruit-fly eggs which might be on the scraps (no fruit flies!)

Here in NYC, the Lower East Side Ecology Center collects kitchen scraps at the Union Square Greenmarket and at their home base on East 7th Street. Or, find your local community garden and ask if they accept scraps. If you’re outside of NYC just do a few searches and see what’s going on nearby. Also, be sure to check with your collector as to their specific preferences– some are able to accept meat and dairy scraps, and others aren’t.”

Okay, so this isn't exactly composting indoors, but it's still composting and good to know! If you simply can't compost, or don't want to spend the money on it, give your food scraps to someone who will! Sure, you're not the one composting, but you're still helping, and that makes all the difference.

For more information, please visit the following website: 

http://tinychoices.com/2008/01/24/four-ways-to-compost-indoors/