How to Set Up a Low-Odor Compost Container
When a compost pile is free of meat and certain ingredients and is properly maintained, it will heat to 90 to 140 degrees F with little or no odor. You can set up commercially produced tumblers and bins to assure yourself of an odor-free material while keeping the kitchen refuse you throw away to a minimum. You will decrease the amount of garbage you send to a landfill and produce a container of rich soil that can fertilize your lawn, garden or flower beds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Purchase a tumbler or bin that is for home compost (see Resources below). These vary in size and price to fit any area and budget. There is even a unit that is on a stand to keep invasive pests such as raccoons from getting into it. You can also purchase an in-house compost processor, which is especially appealing to an apartment or condominium dweller.
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Select an area in your backyard or on your deck or patio that you are comfortable with to set up your compost producer. Prepare a space large enough for it to be set up. You need enough space to be able to walk around the compost unit.
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Remove the compost container from its box and read any instructions that are included. Place the container on level ground, and if it has a second piece or cover, snap it in place.
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Gather dried leaves and twigs from yard refuse to provide carbon. Bring a container of nitrogen-filled kitchen refuse, such as fruit and vegetable peelings, out to your compost area. Layer the brown carbon filled matter you gathered from the garden and yard in the bottom of the container and add in the green materials from the kitchen.
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Aerate your compost to maintain a no-odor pile. A compost pile must be able to breathe in order to air out. Tumbler units have a handle that you can turn to move and aerate your pile. The enclosed bins must be turned by hand with a pitchfork or shovel. Automatic composters have an electric source and have an aeration system built in.
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Tips & Warnings
Adhere to ratio of 1 part nitrogen to 30 parts carbon along with air and water when maintaining your compost unit. The fanciest unit on earth can only do so much; you must always use proper materials.
Odor in compost comes from poorly maintained materials. You must not put meat, fats or manure from pets in a compost pile or bin.
Too much nitrogen in your pile causes odor.
Too much carbon slows down the deterioration process.
