How to Make Indoor Compost Not Smell
If you think composting kitchen scraps entails keeping a bowl full of smelly coffee grounds, banana peels, apple cores, wilted lettuce and the inevitable fruit flies that go with them on your kitchen counter, composting may not be a very attractive endeavor. If, however, you could put all of those scraps into a container without odor or mess, you might be more inclined to compost those egg shells instead of throwing them in your disposal or into the trash. While you can buy a kitchen composter specifically designed for the purpose---usually a heavy-duty crock or stainless steel container with a carbon filter in the lid---you can make your own kitchen composter and save yourself some money. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Plastic container with lid
- Carbon filter
- Sharp knife
- Self-sticking Velcro
- Cloves
- Spice grinder
- Water
- Dish soap
Instructions
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Ensure the lid on the plastic container is tight-fitting. A large ice-cream tub, for example, makes a great kitchen composter. If you don't have many kitchen scraps at one time, a smaller container, such as a butter tub, is an option. If you don't mind being confronted with the smell each time you open the container, you can just put your scraps in the container and snap on the lid. The lid will prevent insects from getting inside and keep the smell from escaping.
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If you would like to reduce the odor in the composter, use the knife to poke three or four small holes in the center of the tub's lid, about 2 inches apart.
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On the inside of the lid, attach four pieces of the "hook" side of self-sticking Velcro. Attach the filter to the Velcro.
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Grind the cloves and sprinkle them in your composter every few times you open it. The cloves will help keep down the odor of the decomposing kitchen scraps.
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Empty the composter often. No matter what type of composter you use, the odor will be reduced if the container is emptied often and washed with hot water and dish soap, either by hand or in a dishwasher.
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Tips & Warnings
Carbon filters are sold for many brands of kitchen composters. They are about $4 for a package of two.
