Table: 1 Things to be composted and excluded from composting bin
Materials to include:
- Vegetables/kitchen refuses
- Garden trimmings, grass clippings
- Leaves, dry leaves (straw)
- Twigs and shredded branches
- Food refuses: bread, buns etc
- Egg shells
- Farm animal manure (e.g. Cow, Sheep, Goat , Poultry)
- Fruit refuses
- Wood ash
Materials to exclude:
- Non biodegradable waste: polythene, plastics, glass, metal etc.
- Human feces, pet manure(e.g. dog, cat)
- Dairy Products
- Diseased plants
- Fish , meat scraps and bones
- Slow degradable materials like coconut shells, coconut husk, etc.
- Fats/cooking oils
- Hazardous material like batteries, bulbs, electronic components, chemicals
How to Use a Compost Bin
1. Correct Locating of the bin
Bins should be located on a suitable place of the garden with convenient distance from the kitchen (5 – 15 m) .This place should not be a water logged area during the rainy season and a good basement is required for a steady installation. The basement should allow the drainage of excess water and it should permit the entry of soil microorganisms, earthworms etc. It is important to ensure that rats or any other pests should not enter tot the bin. It is best that the bin is placed in a sunny area to enable better composting in high temperatures (Thermophlic composting).
2. Adding the materials for composting & maintenance
- Fill the bin with household organic waste as alternative layers of kitchen waste and dried garden waste. Do not add inorganic (polythene, plastic, glass, metal) or slow degradable materials like coconut husk, coconuts shells, banana stalk etc. (table:1)
- some twigs and branches can be shredded into smaller pieces so that it accelerate the composting process
- Do not add any problematic materials like meat scraps, fish, dairy products and oily products to the bin (this attract pest). Smaller quantities of above waste can burry in the center of bin to minimize pest attraction and malfunctions. Further, good monitoring mechanisms are needed to optimize the composting process.
- A minimum volume of material is required to activate composting and therefore, the compost bin must be at least ¾ full for the process to work well.
- Composting cannot occur without moisture and therefore, spray some water to moist the dry materials in a bin. Too much moisture creates anaerobic conditions that can create unpleasant odors (moist but should not squeeze out water from the bin).
- Balance substrate is required for optimum growth of the micro-organisms. One material alone is sometimes not good substrate for composting and it can overcome by mixing different substrate which is rich in different components (e.g. dry garden waste with kitchen waste). Kitchen waste alone provides good substrate for fly breeding and it can minimize by covering a thin layer of dry garden waste.
- Mixing or “turning” the composting material from time to time will aerate and help composting material break down faster (and also prevent unpleasant odor). The compost must be turned at least once a week.
- Microorganisms in active composting stages produce lot of heat. Therefore, temperature can reach over 60°C in the center of a bin. This heat is desirable, as it helps to kill weed seeds, pathogens and to break down the materials. Placing the compost bin in a sunny location will also help the compost inside to heat up and decompose faster.
- The lid of the composting bin has to be secured to prevent pests getting in. When pests such as ants and cockroaches enter the bin will also indicate that the material in the bin is too dry.
Troubleshooting
Table 2: Common problems, causes and solutions for composting bin users
| Problems | Possible Causes | Solution |
| Materials in the bin not decomposing or not heating up at all. |
Not enough nitrogen, oxygen or moisture |
Make sure you have enough nitrogen rich sources like manure, grass clippings or food scraps. Mix up the materials in the bin, so that it can breathe. Add some water to the bin and make sure there is enough moisture for composting process. |
| Matted leaves or grass clippings are not decomposing. |
Poor aeration or lack of moisture. |
Avoid adding thick layers of same material. Use of one substrate alone does not provide balance nutrients for microbes. Eg. Leaves, paper, grass clippings. Therefore, shred and mixed such material with other material to help composting easy and faster. Break up the layers and mix the materials in the bin. |
| Stinks like rancid butter, vinegar or rotten eggs. |
Not enough oxygen, Bin is too wet, or compacted. |
Mix up the bin for aeration so that it can breathe. Add course dry materials like straw, hay or leaves to soak excess moisture. Add dry materials and mix well, if it creates an unpleasant odor. |
| Vermin problem (fly larvae) |
Inappropriate materials like meat, dairy products. Bin is too wet. Poor aeration |
Adjust the moisture by adding dry materials or ash. Locate the bin in a sunny place. Heat helps to destroy fly larvae, weed seeds and other pathogens. Switch to a fly-proof closed bin with enough aeration. |
| Odor like ammonia. |
Not enough carbon. | Add brown materials like dried leaves, straw, hay, shredded paper, etc. |
| Attracts rodents, flies, or other animals (rats, crows, dogs etc.) |
Inappropriate materials (like meat, oil, bones), Material like fresh food is too close to the surface of the bin. |
Do not add inappropriate materials to a compost bin (large scale). Switch to a rodent-proof safe bin. |
| Attracts insects, millipedes, slugs, etc. |
This is normal in composting and part of the natural degradation process. |
Sometimes become a problem. Use proper bin design which can keep away from household pest like cockroaches, slugs, spiders. |
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can you add how to control millipedes the natural way? My compost is severely infested with millipedes, they’re everywhere including the orchids pots, COT’s pots and other flowering and ornamental plants, I can’t use organic pesticide always because of allergies. Need your help.