One Quick Addition Will Help You Control Bad Odors In Your Compost Bin

Have you just started composting only to find that the space is starting to stink? Many might assume that compost would naturally smell bad since it is meant to be made up of decomposing organic material, but the truth is that well-maintained compost should have an earthy or musky smell, not an unpleasant one. If there's a rotting scent, that means you need to find the problem and fix it ASAP.

So, what is causing your compost to smell bad? There are several reasons, from putting in the wrong food products to lack of aeration, but another offender is excess moisture. If you have too much moisture in your compost pile, you are throwing off the delicate balance involved by removing oxygen, which allows smelly bacteria to fester and add more stench. So, what should you be doing to remove or lower the moisture content? Start by adding something from the "brown material" side of things — namely, some shredded paper! 

How does shredded paper keep the stink down? That is because it will help absorb and bring down the levels of excess moisture in your compost pile. This, in turn, will allow the oxygen to increase and circulate throughout the pile, keeping away a good bit of the stink. Of course, this isn't the only way shredded paper can help stop bad smells in your compost pile. Keep that in mind as you aim to keep your compost stink-free.

Beyond reducing the amount of moisture in your compost pile, shredded paper also helps keep your compost pile from getting smelly by helping to balance out levels of carbon (with "brown materials") and nitrogen (with "green" materials"). Your compost needs both to do its job. Shredded paper is considered a "brown material," which has high levels of carbon compared to more nitrogen-filled "green materials" such as food scraps or grass clippings. If you have too much nitrogen in your pile, you might smell something like ammonia or cat pee, which is a good sign that you will need to shredded paper or sawdust to balance out the excess. 

Keeping the compost free of foul odors can be done permanently with the correct balance of 50/50 green materials — think fruit and veggie scraps, eggshells, and stale bread — and brown materials like coffee grounds, dry leaves, and products like repurposed paper bags. If your compost looks slimy, throw in more brown materials; if it's too dry, add more green. And remember — no meat, dairy, fats, oils, or bones; those materials will decompose more slowly, smell worse, and could also attract all sorts of rodents and pests.