How To Choose Proper Bins for Making a Compost Pile on Your Terrace or Balcony

If you shudder at the sight of fetid waste piled on street corners, the chances are you’ve thought about home composting to minimise the waste you send out of your house. Also, if you have a garden, even a small balcony or terrace garden, making a compost pile is a cost-effective way to fertilise your plants.

Composting is a simple solution for managing organic or kitchen waste at home while enriching soil naturally. Adding vegetable peels, fruit scraps, and food leftovers to your compost pile can significantly reduce landfill waste while creating a nutrient-rich soil enhancer for plants.

However, in urban spaces, specifically apartment living, finding the proper composting method and the most suitable bin is essential for ensuring its success and sustainability. Use this guide to determine which compost bin or home composting method suits your needs.

Table of contents

• Basic & Benefits
• Composting terms you should know
• Factors to consider
• Common composting methods, and their pros and cons

For Easy Composting at Home, Understand the Basics & Benefits

Composting means decomposing organic or kitchen waste into nutrient-rich soil amendments using microorganisms. It requires a balanced mix of green or kitchen waste (vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and cooked food) and brown waste (dried leaves, paper, sawdust) to break down effectively.

The benefits of making compost at home include:

• Reducing waste as it keeps biodegradable waste from landfills.
• Enriching soil as compost improves soil health by replenishing essential nutrients.
• Eco-friendly practice that lowers carbon footprint by reducing methane emissions.
• Cost-effectiveness as it saves money on fertilisers and reduces garbage disposal costs.

However, most people shy away from compost-making at home to avoid pests, odours, and regular maintenance. The good news is over the years, composting methods and home compost makers have evolved to make the process hassle-free and efficient.

So, if you have not tried composting due to these misconceptions, perhaps now is the time to give it a try. Browse the compost makers below to choose the best one for your needs.

A Few Composting Terms to Be Aware Of

Leachate:

The composting process sends out a byproduct – leachate – a liquid with a pungent odour. While this ”liquid gold” provides nutrition to plants when diluted with water before applying to the soil, it also attracts insects. Reducing the odour from leachate is a key consideration in managing the compost pile in an apartment. Adding microbes to decompose the organic matter fast is a solution, as is regularly draining leachate to avoid attracting insects.

Microbe/composting powder:

A concentrated mixture of beneficial microorganisms that accelerate decomposition. Adding microbes or compost powder to the bin makes your compost ready quickly.

Aerobic composting:

This process involves exposing the household waste to oxygen, allowing microorganisms to break down the organic matter. Aerobic composting, often referred to as a ”hot pile,” generates heat during composting and requires frequent turning to aerate the matter evenly.  

Anaerobic composting (Bokashi composting):

Anaerobic composting refers to decomposing waste without exposing it to oxygen. The process generates methane gas and requires specialised bacteria to break down the matter. Landfills are the most common example of anaerobic composting. However, the Bokashi method, which originated in Japan, is ideal for apartments and urban spaces. It uses an airtight container to store food scraps, and a specialised bran (Bokashi bran) is used to speed up the decomposition. The Bokashi bucket collects the leachate at the bottom, which requires frequent draining. Once the compost is fermented, it can be buried in the soil or added to a compost pile.

Before You Begin Composting at Home, Consider These Factors

How Much Space Do You Have?

In an apartment, a compact bin is best for making compost at home, but a compost pile can work well for a backyard.

What Waste Type & Quantity?

If your household generates only vegetable waste, vermicomposting can work well, whereas Bokashi bins might be more suitable for homes with mixed waste.

How Much Time & Effort Can You Spend?

Some methods require regular maintenance, while others are more hands-off. Choose an option based on how much time you can dedicate daily for easy composting at home.

What’s Your Budget?

Low-cost DIY composting is a cost-effective option, but readymade compost bins may offer convenience and improve the aesthetics of your space.

Common Types of Home Composting Methods & Their Pros and Cons

1. Traditional Compost Pile (Best for Large In-Ground Spaces & Gardens)

A traditional compost pile is worth considering if you have a large backyard or garden. It requires layering kitchen scraps with garden waste and letting it decompose naturally with exposure to air.

✅ Pros: Low-cost, no special equipment required.
❌ Cons: Requires space, may attract pests or emit odours if not appropriately managed.

Essential Tips for Successful Traditional Composting Piles

• Balance Green & Brown Waste: The ideal dry/brown and green waste ratio must be 2:1 for proper decomposition.
• Watch What Goes In: Too much moisture leads to odour. Also, avoid adding non-compostable items like plastic, glass, and oily food.
• Manage Odour & Aeration: Turn the compost regularly to ensure airflow and prevent foul smells.
• Weather Considerations: In humid/rainy climates, compost piles may need additional dry material or a cover to prevent excess moisture.

2. Aerobic Compost Bins (Best for Small Outdoor Spaces in Apartments)

Compost bins or buckets are enclosed containers that help manage waste effectively with controlled aeration. Options include plastic, clay, or metal bins in different sizes. These bins are ideal for urban households, balconies, terraces, or small gardens.

✅ Pros: Compact, odour control, easy to manage.
❌ Cons: It takes longer to decompose compared to open piles.

Essential Tips:

• Avoid too much moisture: Strain the liquid from cooked foods before adding it to the bin to prevent excess moisture.
• Layer well: Add sufficient dry material to ensure the pile isn’t too soggy and remains odour-free.
• Add microbes for quicker decomposition: For easy composting at home, sprinkle microbes to break down the organic matter faster.
• Turn: Use a rake to mix or turn the compost at least once daily to speed up the process.

3. Vermicomposting (Best For High-Nutrient Compost)

This process uses earthworms to decompose organic waste quickly, creating a nutrient-rich compost called vermicast. Worm compost bins can be used in small gardens, balconies, and households that generate a steady amount of vegetable waste. The worm tea (leachate) collected from the bin can be diluted and used as plant nutrients.

✅ Pros: Produces high-quality compost, ideal for plants.
❌ Cons: Needs a shaded, moist environment and occasional care.

Essential Tips:

• Balance the moisture: Ensure the compost remains moist enough for the earthworms to feed on it.
• Watch the bin: Keep an eye on the bin to ensure you don’t see earthworms escaping from it, as it could be a sign of moisture imbalance.
• Switch the trays regularly: Once the worms have eaten through one tray, ensure you have another accessible one filled with scraps for the worms to feed.

4. Bokashi Composting (Best for Quick Fermentation of Mix Food Waste & Odour-Free Indoor Use)

Bokashi involves anaerobic compost making at home, using a specialised mix of beneficial microbes to ferment organic waste, including cooked food and dairy.

✅ Pros: Fast, odour-free, works for all food waste. It can be placed indoors or under the sink.
❌ Cons: The fermented waste needs further composting in soil. Although it can be done by layering the fermented compost and soil in a large, covered bin or bucket, the layering process is messy and requires an additional step.

Essential Tips:

• Wipe excess moisture: Ensure that excess moisture is removed from the bin lid when you fill it with waste to keep away fruit flies.
• Cover or microwave waste to prevent maggots: Bokashi bins tend to attract flies as the waste is kept indoors. A simple way to prevent flies from laying eggs and to keep the bin maggot-free is to microwave the food/vegetable scraps for 20-30 seconds before layering the bin.
• Layer well with dry soil/cocopeat in the second stage: Once the fermented waste is ready for layering, use sufficient soil or cocopeat to layer the waste, mask the odour, and avoid attracting flies and insects.

5. Tumbler Composting (Best for Fast & Odor-Free Decomposition for Households with Larger Outdoor Space and High Waste Output)

A tumbler is a compost drum that can be rotated to speed up decomposition by providing aeration evenly to the pile. It can be the best garden composter for larger spaces.

✅ Pros: Quick decomposition, prevents pests.
❌ Cons: Higher initial cost, needs turning, and occupies more space.

Essential Tips:

• Monitor the compost: Like the traditional compost pile, a tumbler requires the right mix of brown and green waste. Add more moisture to prevent the pile from drying, or add dry matter to avoid odours.
• Tumble regularly: Don’t forget to rotate your compost tumbler regularly to aerate the pile and speed up decomposition.

Which Composting Method to Choose?

• Apartments & Flats: Bokashi bins, vermicomposting, small aerobic compost bins.
• Independent Houses with Small Gardens: Compost bins, vermicomposting, tumblers.
• Homes with Large Gardens: Traditional compost piles, tumbler composting.
• Gated Communities & Apartments with Shared Spaces: Community composting bins, large-scale vermicomposting setups.