Home composting is one of the best things you can do to help the environment. It produces rich soil for your garden and can cut the amount of waste going to landfill.
And it’s easier than you think.
Home composting
There are home composting options to suit every indoor and outdoor space.
Open or closed compost bins
Closed bins are the most common type of household compost bin. They have a lid and often feature a hatch for releasing finished compost.
Open bins are closed off on three or four sides and open to the elements. They tend to be the cheapest and easiest form of composting system.
Open and closed compost bins only accept fruit, vegetable scraps and garden waste — no meat, dairy products, bones or pet faeces.
| Pros | Cons |
| Cheap to set up | Can become too wet or dry |
| Easy to aerate | Challenging to keep rodents out |
| Produces large amounts of compost | Needs a good amount of space |
Tumblers
Tumblers come in many shapes and sizes, but they’re often enclosed and housed on a frame. The user then rotates them manually to accelerate the composting process.
Tumblers accept fruit and vegetable scraps, garden waste, meat and fish.
| Pros | Cons |
| Rodent-proof | Can be difficult to turn when it’s full |
| Fast composting process | Expensive to set up |
| Easy to aerate |
Green cone
The Green Cone is partially dug into the soil, which allows it to absorb compost into the surrounding earth as it breaks down. It uses heat and light to speed up the composting process.
Green Cones accept fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, bread, citrus and small amounts of pet faeces.
| Pros | Cons |
| Accepts many forms of waste | Compost can’t be transferred to gardens |
| Doesn’t require emptying | More expensive to set up |
| Rodent-proof | Not suitable for bulk garden waste |
| Must be in the sun |
Aerobin
These large sealed plastic bins have an aeration core to promote the breakdown of organic matter. You access its compost through a lower side door.
They accepts fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, garden waste, cheese and meat.
| Pros | Cons |
| No turning required | More expensive to set up |
| Rodent-proof | Can’t compost bulky items |
| Requires continuous feeding |
Classic multi-tray worm farms
Available from hardware stores or nurseries, multi-tray worm farms produce two types of compost — worm castings, which form part of your soil, or worm tea, a liquid fertiliser that you apply directly to plants.
Multi-tray worm farms use a vertical tower of nesting trays. You fill the bottom tray with castings, and prepare a new tray with food when the previous tray fills up. The worms then migrate up to the new tray and the process starts again.
They accept fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells and small amounts of bread, paper and cardboard.
| Pros | Cons |
| Produces rich, easy-to-harvest compost | Needs shade |
| Pest-proof | Taps can sometimes block |
| Needs regular feeding |
DIY worm farm
You can make you own worm farm out of polystyrene boxes, or an old bathtub or fridge. It uses the same design principle as the multi-tray system.
They accept fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells and small amounts of bread, paper and cardboard.
| Pros | Cons |
| Cheap to set up | Shorter life span |
| Compact | No tap to harvest worm tea |
| Uses recycled materials | Not rodent-proof |
Bokashi bins
Bokashi bins are a convenient way to compost in your kitchen. Bokashi is a microorganism that turns a broader range of materials into a nutritious liquid fertiliser. Bokashi bins require the starter microbe mix to ensure it keeps breaking down food, and to keep odours at bay.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can be used indoors | Requires start microbe mix |
Electrical composting systems
Examples of new electrical composting systems include the CLO’ey composter and Smart Cara. The CLO’ey can process up to 4 kilograms of food waste per day.
They accept fruit and vegetable scraps, cheese, meat, fish and bones.
| Pros | Cons |
| Compact | Costly to set up and run |
| Composts a variety of materials | Must be vented if used inside |
| Rodent-proof | Doesn’t compost garden waste |
| Easy to empty |
Community composting options
If you are short on space or time, join a community garden. Volunteers can get involved in all aspects of gardening, including composting.
To find out more, visit our Community gardening web page.
Sharewaste
Sharewaste is a free website connects people who wish to donate their food scraps to their neighbours who are already composting and willing to accept more organic waste.
Free mulch
You can collect free mulch from the bay at Glen Huntly Park car park off Neerim Road. Melway Ref: 68 E3 (near the corner of Booran and Neerim Roads).
For more information visit our free mulch page.
