Home Composting, Without a Yard (Published 2022)

Home Composting, Without a Yard

It’s the season for feasting. But all that cooking can result in a lot of food waste, which is a surprisingly big source of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

One way to minimize the climate impact of your food scraps is to compost them. You can even do it in your living room. Here’s how →

Home Composting, Without a Yard

In a large cardboard box, mix two parts coco peat, one part kuntan rice husk ash, or an alternative like hardwood ash or biochar. (You can find these online or at your local home goods store.) Raise it up on blocks to improve airflow.

Home Composting, Without a Yard

To speed up the composting process, roughly cut up the scraps before putting them in the box. Breaking up hard-to-compost scraps like citrus peels is especially helpful.

Home Composting, Without a Yard

Here are some things you can and can’t compost, based on my experience.

Easily compostable: Raw or cooked vegetables, fruit scraps, tea and coffee dregs, bread and flour, boiled pasta and rice
Compostable, but takes longer: Raw leafy vegetables, raw onion, small fish bones, egg shells, corn husks, onion and garlic skins, vegetable cores like cabbage
Don’t compost: Animal bones, anything with high salt like pickles (it’s unhealthy for microorganisms), corn cobs (which take forever to break down), avocado peels (they dry up and stick around), peanut shells, cigarettes

Home Composting, Without a Yard

The hardworking microorganisms need a moist, airy environment to thrive in. If it starts feeling dry, spray a little water on it. Wet food like leftover pumpkin pulp can supercharge your compost, too. The cardboard box will still stay surprisingly dry, and odor-free. (I’ve had boxes last years.)

Read more about why I started a food bin at home, and about composting and the climate: