Apartment Composting Systems Options

Have you ever wondered how to compost in an apartment? It seems impossible to practice sustainable apartment living in general, especially, if you don’t have a yard or own the property. For years, I lived in an apartment and I felt the same way, but then I came across a solution, though a pretty pricey one. Still I did not give up. I wanted to learn how to compost in an apartment. Finally, I found a more affordable apartment composting option that solved both problems. A composting system that didn’t require space or a yard, while also being budget friendly. It was a win-win.

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Earth Day, April 22, is a great day to make this change. Composting has a great number of benefits for both us and the planet. Here’s what you need to know about composting in an apartment.

What Can You Compost Indoors

If you want to know how to compost in an apartment, first you need to know what you can actually compost indoors. When you compost in an apartment or indoors, it’s important to watch what you put in the compost bin. You don’t want to draw any visitors or make your apartment stink. Refer back to list anytime you need and make sure you don’t try composting something to invite new visitors.

Never compost meat, dairy, citrus, oils, cooked foods, spicy food, salty food or foods with preservatives.

Brown or carbon rich materials, which is also worm bedding, should make up at least 50 percent of compost. These materials include newspaper, paper (printed with soy ink for worms), cardboard, wood chips, straw or hay, and leaves.

The green or nitrogen materials, include fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags, hair, eggshells, coffee filters, and cooked pasta.

The key is to make sure you have the right balance of brown versus green. If you’re compost starts to stink or draws flies, back off of the green until it balances back out.

Apartment composting without worms

Although, I’m a huge fan of composting with worms, I know it’s a turn off for most people in apartments. Luckily, there is still a few options for those wanting to know how to compost in an apartment…without worms.

Wormless Apartment Composting DIY

• Materials Needed:
• Dried Leaves
• 8 oz of top soil
• Can of used coffee grounds
• Large Bucket
• A little water

If you have a bucket lid, make sure it has plenty of holes. If your bucket doesn’t have a lid, use a porous towel to cover the top. Air is an important component for compost. Mix the compost fairly often to aerate and increase microbial activity.

You can find variations of this method throughout YouTube, so take a browse to find a method that works for you. Composting takes anywhere from six weeks to a year.

Compost Bin for Small Yards and Balconies

If you have a little space outdoors to work with, then a small tumbler like this one might be an option.

Compost tumblers, as opposed to compost bins, are designed to make it easier to turn the compost. You’ll only need to spin the drum a few times a week. They are a tad smaller than a compost bin. However, they speed the composting process by making it easy to mix the materials, They are sealed on the bottom, so if you rent property, you don’t have to worry about cleaning up after the compost bin.  The seal also helps the compost heat up more, speeding up the compost more.  This system gives you the ability through batches in about 6 – 8 weeks. You can learn more about the compost bins vs. compost tumblers.

Apartment Composting with Worms

I’ve had great luck composting with worms and I sing the praises of vermicomposting to anyone who will listen.

Before I learned how to compost in an apartment, I worked in an sustainable waste management organization and part of our educational lessons was teaching about the numerous benefits of vermicompost. It was such an awesome process and I desperately wanted to have my own system, but I only lived in a small apartment. My manager gave me a small coffee container, but it was such a small system I couldn’t get much from it and even the smallest of mistakes was deadly. I wanted to expand to try again, but the vermicompost worm factories ran from $80-$100, which was just too big of an investment, if I was just going to end up killing them all.

Fast forward a few years and I finally get up the nerve to try again, but there was still one problem: what was I going to put them in? I need something affordable, didn’t take up too much room and didn’t require for me to completely empty everything out in order to get to the good stuff. As I searched, longingly through pages of the same thing over and over again, a thought came to me. The worm factories were basically, containers stacked on top of each other, then there was the bottom container to collect all the excess water. Why couldn’t I do the same? Today, I’ll show you an affordable, space-saving, hit you over the head simple solution to your food waste problems.

Worm Apartment Composting DIY

Supplies Needed:

• Worms
• Lots of Newspapers
• Bag of leaves
• Drill (1/4 inch bit) or Nail and a Hammer
• Raw Fruit and Vegetable Scraps- No meat, oil, dairy or cooked foods
• At least 2 Stackable Buckets with one lid- I used kitty litter buckets, but you can use 5-Gallon buckets, icing buckets from your local bakery, etc. You can often find these on Craigslist for just a dollar or two.

Start with at least two buckets and drill holes in the bottom on one. If you decide to add more buckets, drill holes in all but one. This allows the liquid to drain. Fill the top bucket(s) with newspaper or leaves and put in one cup of produce scraps to start. Once that’s gone add another.

You’ll find detailed worm bin tutorial here.

For a complete vermicomposting tutorial, check out this 2-part vermicomposting video series.

Best Worms for Composting Red Wigglers Worms

I got my worms from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm and they’ve been great little worms. I’ve enjoyed vermicomposting so much, I’ve become an affiliate for Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. You can purchase your worms with this link to support my vermicomposting habits.

Troubleshooting Apartment Compost Systems

Once you get the hang of how to compost in an apartment, it becomes second nature. Until then, here are some things to watch out for.

The key is to make sure you have the right balance of brown versus green. If you’re compost starts to stink or draws flies, back off of the green until it balances back out.

If the compost smells or is too matted, and you don’t have worms, you might need to turn the pile more to help aerate the compost.

Also, compost needs a bit of liquid, so it’s bone dry add a bit of water.

If the compost doesn’t heat up and compost, your system might be too small or you might need to add nitrogen materials.

Find more troubleshooting questions here.

Interested in composting, but don’t know where to start? Subscribe for access to a free quiz and find the best composting option for you.

Let me know in the comments, what methods you’ve used to compost in an apartment!

Looking for more ways to celebrate Earth Day? Check out these cool ideas!

Celebrate Earth Day – Design Life Hacks

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Pet Friendly Essential Oils for Cleaning – Paws and Pines

For more green apartment living ideas, check out this e-book perfect for renters trying to save money and live an eco-friendly life.

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