How to Easily Compost Kitchen Waste in an Apartment

 How to Easily Compost Kitchen Waste in an Apartment

Be The Change You Wish to See in The World 

- Mahatma Gandhi 

The Smallest change that we make in our lifestyle not only benefits us but even the next generation and the environment. Composting is the first step that we take for sustainable living. Composting should be done in each household. How nice will it be if everyone decides to start segregating the waste and start composting?

You might wonder if sustainable living can just be a dream for people living in small spaces and apartments. No. The little efforts you take to move towards sustainable living have a great impact on you, your family, everyone and everything around you.

Easily Compost Kitchen waste in Apartment or Small space

#1 Method: Using Water Bottle 

Things required for making compost using 2-litter water bottle

1. Wet waste / greens
2. Browns
3.  2-litter water bottle

•  Segregate the kitchen waste first in to Dry Waste and Wet Waste.

Wet Waste: Vegetable peel,  Fruit peel, Egg shell, Uncooked Meat, Cooked and uncooked food,  Flower waste, anything that can be organically decompose. 

 Dry Waste : Bottles cans,  clothing,  plastic,  wood,  glass,  metals,  paper,  e-waste

Collect enough browns for composting. Browns are dried leaves, coconut husk, straw, and wood chips. Browns are the carbon rich compost material, Green are the nitrogen rich compost material.

Pic #1 : This is how I colored to make my garden bright, Cut till the arrow 

•      Green waste and Brown waste should be added in equal ration 1:1
•      If you have a cup full of greens take same amount of browns. 
•      First put the browns and then add green and mix it well.
•      The next day while adding green again take same amount of brown and then green.
•      Repeat it like the below given, till the bottle is full. 

     Layer 1 - Brown

                   Layer 2 -  Green

                   Layer 3 - Brown

              Layer 4 - Green

        Layer 5 - Brown

• If you are a beginner in composting, do not take cooked or uncooked food just take all the others in the list. Wet waste is also called green waste. Waste like watermelon peel should be cut into very small pieces to make the compost process very fast. Big pieces take a very long time to compost.

Pic #2 Wide opening to add the browns and greens

• Take a 2-liter water bottle and paint it if you do not want to see the compost process and to look fancy. If you would like to see the compost process just leave it as it is. Put 2/3 small holes on the bottom of the water bottle.                          

Pic #3 Place it on a plant so the 
excess water drops directly to pot

    As shown in the picture cut until the black mark.  It      will have a wide open to put the soil and dry leaves       into the bottle, also easy to open and close. This             bottle    can be placed on the pot (With shade plants),    so the excess water from the compost, which has rich    nutrition, will go directly to the plant. It shouldn’t be    kept directly under the sun

 #2 Method: Using Container         

  If you have a little extra place to have a container on   the floor, you can buy the ready-made containers   available on store or prepare one by yourself. The     below shows two water can tops cut and painted. The cans should be placed as shown in the pic. The bottom upper part should have few holes to allow the excess water to drip into the bottom can. In the top side of both the can put pin size holes to allow air circulation. If the holes are big insects or mosquitoes might go in which is not good.

Pic #4 Cut a plastic container and make 3 to 4 small holes to drain the water

Pic #5 Place container that has hole on the top 

Brown waste and green waste should be added on 1:1 ratio. The greens will have a lot of moisture and it should be balanced by the browns. If the moisture balance is not maintained  big white worms will start growing in the compost bin. Although the big white worm is believed to make the composting process fast, a beginner might not like it. Stir it every day.

●       Layer 1  - Brown

●       Layer 2 -  Green

●       Layer 3 - Brown

●       Layer 4 - Green

●       Layer 5 - Brown

     Add waste on the above-mentioned method. Do not let it overflow. If you have patience to collect the excess water daily. Put 3 to 4 holes on the bottom container to or connect a tap to it. If the excess water is not discarded daily it will start stinking. Continue until the container is full. The the fist container is full empty it inside the down container and again start the process of filling brown and green on the top one. By the time the top container is full the bottom one will be ready. 

Sprinkle sore milk, buttermilk, diluted dosa batter (any one of this) to make the compost process fast. It takes approximately 30 days for the composting process. Dry leaves take much longer. However, adding soar items makes the process much easier and fast. Although it seems like a big work, it is not. It’s the easiest composting method that can be done in a very small space. 

#3 Method: Grind the Greens

If you have no space at all, or do not want to go through the process, grind the greens. Grind the green waste using a mixer/grinder dilute it in water and use it while watering the plant.  

Try it yourself and give me your feedback on how it worked for you.

For doubts and clarification comment below.

Follow my blog for more info useful for gardening 

www.thechennaigarden.blogspot.com

Happy Composting! 😊