Kitchen Compost Application

Home Composting

Home composting is an effective and efficient way to dramatically reduce your waste stream at home, while doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint. Organic material sent to landfill creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to the negative impacts of our changing climate. By making compost, you are creating a valuable soil amendment that you can use to benefit your landscape, boost plant growth and sequester carbon.

Many types of food waste and yard waste can be composted at home, including grass clippings, tree and shrub trimmings, vegetable garden and fruit tree waste, lawn clippings, autumn leaves, coffee grounds, and fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. Home composters should not attempt to compost meat, dairy or large amounts of baked goods.

Home composting can be done in an enclosed bin or tumbler, in an easily made bunker, or using a no-fuss pile. The key is to blend your feedstocks to achieve a balance of carbon and nitrogen, keep things damp but not saturated, and ensure adequate oxygen deep in the pile. The microbes will do the rest.

Home Composting Bins

Composting can be practiced in backyards in a homemade or manufactured composting bin or simply an open pile (some cities require enclosed bins).

While backyard composting can be done successfully in uncontained piles, a composting bin can provide benefits such as improving the look of your composting area, improving your ability to maintain temperatures when hot composting and preventing rodents from accessing your compost pile.

Some communities offer free or discounted bins to residents as an incentive to compost at home. A successful program to promote home composting can reduce a community's cost of solid waste collection and disposal. In addition to bins, some communities offer technical assistance programs, such as workshops or a hotline service, to assist residents.

Bins vary in terms of cost, size, ease of use, and rodent resistance.

Hoops and Square Bins: These are usually the least expensive type of bin. Because hoops can be rolled, they are also easier to ship. Some hoops have tops and lids, which help in making them more rodent resistant. Square wire or plastic bins are like hoops except that they usually have supports in four corners, making them a square rather than round shape.
Cones and Boxes: These bins are typically of a solid construction with lids and bottoms. Some have doors at the bottom for harvesting finished compost. Cone/box-type bins tend to be more expensive than hoops.
Stackables: These are box-shaped with sections that come apart.
Tumblers: These are self-contained barrels, drums, or balls that rotate for mixing the composting materials.

For more information you can visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/HomeCompost/ or contact: Organic Materials, organics@calrecycle.ca.gov