Composting is a great way to be more environmental, but is it always realistic? Living in an apartment can feel limiting when it comes to being eco, but I believe everyone can be sustainable if they choose to.
Before I get into the different ways you can compost at home, lets talk about what exactly it is and why as an individual you should care.
What is composting?
Composting is when organic materials turns back into earth. I like this definition from planetnatural.com: "Composting is a broad term used to explain the process of recycling organic materials." After this organic waste has been composted, it is usually really rich soil and great for growing new plants in. Composting happens naturally, but you and I can also make it happen. If you want to learn more about the specific ingredients and conditions for composting to take place, this composting guide is a great place to learn more about the science behind it all.
Why does individual composting matter?
Did you know that food waste *doesn't* just decompose when its thrown out into the garbage? I recently wrote about why food waste is an issue (which you can read here), but to sum it up, when food is thrown out, the conditions aren't right for healthy composting. It lacks oxygen/light and so instead of decomposing, it just rots and emits harmful greenhouse gasses.
While businesses like restaurants and grocery stores also have a responsibility to watch their food waste, a lot of it can be stopped at an individual level. After how many meals do you throw out your leftovers or scraps? Are you constantly buying produce for it to just go bad? There are preventative actions you can take to limit your food waste (I recently wrote about how to get the most out of your groceries here), but the truth is, even if you do all the "right" things or not, you will still have food that needs to be discarded.
This is where composting comes in.
What are the different options for composting when living in an apartment?
There are several different ways you can choose to compost your food that don't require a backyard.
If you really want to be hands-off, finding ways to compost in your community is a great option. Just like how cities have garbage and recycling cans, some also have composting options. If your town doesn't have composting bins, local community gardens are also a way that you can discard your food waste and help give back to the community. Local farmers or farmers markets might also have composting opportunities that you can participate in. You can find a list of composting options for your state (though not all-inclusive, its a good place to start) at https://www.litterless.com/wheretocompost.
You can also compost from the comfort of your own apartment/dorm/condo/townhome/etc.! One classic technique is the worm composting bin method, aka vermicomposting. This approach is odorless and doesn't require as much effort as other techniques. The worms eat away and create rich soil for you. Here's a step-by-step tutorial you can follow if you would like to try this popular approach.
Another style of composting you can do is Bokashi. This technique requires a bucket and a special bran that ferments the waste, but while other types of composting have specific requirements of what can and cannot be composted, this is a little less strict. However, a con is that the resulting soil is a little acidic and can't be used right away. You can learn more about bokashi here. Another apartment appropriate composting technique is using an electronic composting machine. This is a really good option for indoor composting, as it is a quick process and automatic. If you are an intense gardener, the soil is not as rich and is more dry, but still perfectly usable and appropriate for smaller scales.
If you're looking to start any of these types of composting, make sure you do your research! Depending on your lifestyle, different approaches will be a better fit. My last advice to you if you choose to buy a indoor composter is to make sure you buy an actual composter and not just a container! There's a lot of odorless container options to hold your food in the kitchen until you transport it to an outdoor compost bin, but they don't actually do any composting. I would hate for you to get one of these because of the cheaper price and then realize it doesn't actually *compost.*
I'd love to hear if you've tried composting in an apartment before and which approach is your favorite down in the comments!
Until next time!
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