Urban Home Composting

For urban home composting, there needs a three-unit composter where all the kitchen/organic waste will be composted. The Composter will be made of clay. To understand easily, the units are named A, B and C here. A and B units are identical clay pots with a big hole at the bottom and some mini holes on the wall for proper air circulation. There is no hole at the bottom of the C unit and it is the main composting unit. The steps of home composting in urban households using the composter are given below-

Step-1: Selection of Place

  • The composter must be put in a convenient place on the balcony or terrace.
  • The place should be safe from rain and pets.

Step-2: Start Throwing Kitchen Waste

  • At first, the hole at the bottom of the A unit needs to cover with paper. 
  • Then coat 3/4 handful of dry leaves/ashes/coco peat on it.
  • Put your kitchen waste on the coco peat layer.
  • Again coat 3/4 handful of dry leaves/ashes/coco peat on it.
  • Cover the waste with paper and then cover the whole pot with a lid.
  • The next day, remove the paper cover and throw the kitchen waste on it like the previous way and cover it up again.

Step-3: Daily Routine

  • Put your kitchen waste daily in the A unit using the same process until it fills up 3/4 portion. 
  •  Stire the waste in some time until it occupies 3/4 of the container.
  • When the A unit gets 3/4 filled up, replace it with the B unit and start to fill the container with waste in the same way as before.
  • B unit also needs to be filled 3/4 of the container.

Step-4: Continuation of the Unit Replacement Process

  • When the 3/4 portion of the B unit gets filled up by wastes, transfer the waste of unit A to the C unit.
  • Then put the A unit on the top again and repeatedly follow the whole process by rotation.

Step-5: Collection

  • Within one and half months, waste in the C unit will be turned into compost fertilizer. 
  • When the compost of the C unit turns dark brown or black, it is ready to use as fertilizer.
  • For good fertilizer, it must be strained first. Put the coarse particles in the top unit again for composting.
  • The presence of white mold in it is an indication of good compost.
Composter
Paper at the Bottom
Organic Waste
Compost Fertilizer
Mold on Waste