How to compost food scraps at home, including in apartments?

Choose a dry, shady spot near a water source. Layer green materials (fruit/vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings) with brown materials (dried leaves, cardboard, newspaper, straw) in roughly equal proportions. Keep the pile moist like a wrung-out sponge. Turn with a pitchfork every 1-2…

A worm bin uses red wiggler worms to decompose food scraps indoors with no odor. Set up a bin with bedding (shredded newspaper, cardboard), add 1 pound of red wigglers ($25-35 online), and feed them fruit/vegetable scraps. The worms produce nutrient-rich castings (worm compost) continuously.

Many cities now offer curbside composting pickup alongside trash and recycling. Where municipal service is not available, community composting sites, farmers markets, and services like ShareWaste connect you with nearby composters who will accept your scraps.

Electric composters like Lomi ($400-500), Vitamix FoodCycler ($300-400), or Mill ($33/mo subscription) process food scraps into dry, nutrient-rich grounds in hours. They sit on your kitchen counter, handle meat and dairy, and eliminate odor through carbon filters.

If you cannot compost immediately, store food scraps in a container in your freezer. Freezing prevents odor and decomposition. When your container is full, take it to a community compost site, add it to your backyard pile, or process it in a composter.