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How To Make Your Own Indoor Composting Bin With These 4 Simple Steps
By SEAMUS GREGAN
Composting your own organic waste at home instead of buying it is an eco-friendly way to save some money while helping your garden. Even if you have an outdoor composting system, you might want to consider a more secure, indoor unit to protect your ingredients from weather and animals.
Spot, Pot, And Method
Place your bin on top of a counter or under a sink or cupboard, and look for metal, plastic, or wood bins with a tight-fitting lid. Here, we’ll focus on the simple aerobic composting method, but there are many more like vermicomposting and the Bokashi method, as well.
Make Sure It Breathes
For hygiene reasons, you need a tight-fitting lid, but it's important to have a decent amount of airflow as it can actually reduce odors. Drill five holes across the top of your bin, and line them with a breathable material like a charcoal filter to avoid smells and flies.
Fill Your Bin
Inside your bin, you need to start with “brown material” like shredded paper, cardboard, coffee filters, or dried leaves before adding the “green layer” of kitchen scraps and organic material. Halfway to the top, give your bin a spritz of water for moisture.
Air And Water Levels
For aerobic composting, move the contents of your bin with a trowel, garden fork, or by rolling it to expose the buried contents to oxygen. Your water level should be similar to that of a squeezed-out sponge, so add more brown material to soak up excess water