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♻️ Community composting
Setting up a jointly run composting system for a housing community, street, or garden that processes kitchen and garden organic waste on site, cutting down on waste hauling and producing nutrient-rich soil.
When should you do this?
Can be started any time of year; decomposition kicks off fastest in spring
What will you need?
- A compost bin (wood or metal, with ventilation gaps)
- Dry leaves or straw ("brown material")
- Kitchen and garden green waste ("green material")
- A fork for turning
- Rodent-proof bottom mesh (optional)
How to get started?
- Choose a partly shaded, well-drained, easily accessible spot.
- Build or assemble a bin at least 1×1×1 meter, with ventilated sides.
- Lay down a drainage layer of branches and twigs at the bottom for airflow.
- Layer it: roughly 1 part green (kitchen scraps, grass clippings) to 2-3 parts brown (leaves, straw, chopped branches).
- Put up a sign showing what can go in (no meat, dairy, oil) and what can't.
- Turn the pile every 2-4 weeks to aerate it.
- Keep it moist, like a wrung-out sponge — water it in dry summer weather.
- After 6-12 months, sieve the finished compost from the bottom and use it in the community garden.
Useful tips
- Assign one or two people to regularly check and turn the compost.
- Split tasks, e.g. with a weekly turning rota.
Ready? Start a community composting project, or join one already running near you.