Lazy Composting: Max 10 mins per day, no stink no critters

What happens if you’re a lazy composter? Don’t worry, no one is accusing anyone of anything. We’re just talking for the sake of talking. But let’s say you don’t want to check your composting thermometer hourly, categorize your food waste for storage in your freezer and log everything in your compost diary? Can you still recycle your waste into fertile soil and cut your garbage by almost half in the process?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Plus you can do it all without it creating a stinky mess that ruins your house, sets off your neighbor’s fire alarm or becomes the new cool hangout place for pests and critters.

If composting has been on your mind this year but you haven’t found the right way to get started yet, we’ll show you the four best composting methods to get started hassle free. Once you are setup, you’ll see how easy it is to stick with it.

The four methods in this article are the easiest and fastest (and laziest) ones around taking a maximum of 10 minutes daily. Most days you just need to put your garbage in a different bin than your trash can and that’s it.

All four can be scaled up or down to fit how much space and waste you have. No yard? No problem.

They also allow you to compost all year-round, even in winter.

The best part is that you don’t need to buy anything expensive. We’ve got some easy step-by-step video tutorials to share so that you can get started today without it costing you an arm and a leg.

If you got plants or a garden, they’ll thrive with your compost making you look like a master gardener. And if you don’t then you now have the option to turn on your green thumb effortlessly without synthetic fertilizers. If ever you do use your own compost, it’s by far the cheapest way to add produce to your diet.

As a bonus, there’s some awesome health benefits that come from recycling your waste into compost like reducing the chance of depression and lowering stress. Plus if you end up using it on your plants, you can further increase those effects.

This one change also has a huge impact on your carbon footprint. Composting cuts your waste retlated emissions by 65% more than recycling and just one person composting removes more CO2 pollution than two average sized backyards full of trees can per year.ⁱ, ⁱⁱ, ⁱⁱⁱ

While this all may sounds great, it’s got to be easy to get started but don’t worry we’ve got you covered.

Whatever is your situation we’ll help show you how easy it is to fit composting in your life so you can get all the benefits without the headaches. We’ll discuss all of that plus give you all the details on how to get started.

Here's a quick summary of the benefits of composting:

Whether you garden or not, simply by making compost at home you get many of the same health benefits as gardening without all the heavy lifting. Having access to healthy high quality soil has been shown to boost your immune system as well as reduce the chance of depression, dementia and stress. ^iv, ^v, ^vi

But if you are making compost, why not reap the health rewards that come with using it.

Whether your plot is a small patio planter, a backyard vegetable garden or a plot in a community garden, you can tap into better health by using your own compost on your plants. Taking care of plants also adds some regular physical activity which gives a boost to those same health benefits mentioned above, so go ahead and get your hands dirty. ^vii, ^viii, ^ix

If you do chose to grow some produce, this leads to healthier eating on the cheap. When it’s grown at home, you know what went in. It’s also fresher so everything ends up being tastier and more nutritious.

Composting is nature's way of recycling which returns nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

Compost improves soil quality allowing for better retention of moisture and nutrients. It also contains macro and micro nutrients often absent in commercial fertilizers plus releases it all slowly giving you healthier, thriving plants. No commercial fertilizer, even one that is totally organic, provides the full spectrum of nutrients that you get with compost.

If ever you’ve had trouble with plants before, this is one sure fire way to magically turn you into a master gardener. Probably the easiest thing you can do to make sure that your plants thrive is to give them some compost once or twice per year.

That you can turn what would normally be stinky garbage into clean smelling soil is pretty neat. Once you get started you’ll see that making compost is just plain fun.

Plus by cutting out the part of your garbage that stinks means you won't have the decomposing smell from your trash can filling your kitchen or garbage juice leaking on your floor anymore.

Did you know that food scraps and other organic materials are the heaviest, smelliest part of our trash? By composting you'll end up cutting your garbage footprint by 40%. ^x, ^xi

It’s satisfying to know that just by making this one change you’ll be truly completing the recycling loop by sending food waste back to the earth. Plus it also has a huge positive impact by reducing air and water pollution from incinerators or landfills.

Okay, but aren’t landfills just giant compost piles? How does composting help more than using the regular trash bin?

You would think that garbage should break down in landfills since it’s dumped into a giant hole in the ground, but it doesn’t because they aren’t aerated properly.

Sealed up in plastic bags that limit their exposure to oxygen and being buried under more plastic, glass, and paper, garbage in landfills breaks down at a rate far slower than you might imagine. Decomposition happens very slowly, and releases far too much methane throughout the process because of the lack of oxygen.

Although you can't avoid waste completely, it’s fun to see in just a few weeks how composting can reduce the amount of trash you’re throwing out.

Composting can seem like a big hassle, with so many things to worry about before you can get started. Will it be messy? Will it take a lot of time? How expensive will it be to get going?

Not to worry, we’ll show you some easy shortcuts to get you composting smoothly without the hassle. Then you’ll be on what we call lazy composting cruise control.

How can you start today? Lazy composting 101

To get started let’s talk about what is compostable and what isn’t? In general if it grows, it goes. But even though technically you can compost anything that was once living, some things are better left out of the compost pile for the sake of better compost and less hassle.

All compost ingredients generally fall under one of two categories, brown or green. These can be confusing terms, as the color of the items isn’t really what it’s about.

Soil is created by combining brown, or carbon-rich material with green, high-in-nitrogen waste.

Materials that are high in carbon are typically dry, brown materials that rot down very slowly, such as paper, cardboard, dried leaves, straw, branches and other woody or fibrous materials. Materials that are high in nitrogen are typically moist, green materials that rot down very quickly, such as lawn/grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps or green leafy materials.

An easy way to tell them apart is to think about what would happen if you left one of these out on a table for a week. If it starts to dry up it’s probably brown, if it rots or molds on the table, it’s green.

Together, these two types of materials provide the right balance of food and moisture to help the microorganisms needed for composting to thrive. When adding to your bin, try to alternate between adding browns and greens. It is a good idea to always cover every layer of greens with an equal layer of browns to prevent odors, pests, and flies.

To make it easier collect and store browns next to your compost so they are available when you need them.

Collecting compost materials

At the base composting is simple, you are just putting the items from the green and brown list above into a special spot for composting instead of adding it to the trash can. It can be hard to break the habit of tossing things into the trash, so you can write out or print the list of accepted materials and put it somewhere visible near your bin. Then you can easily run down the list before you throw anything away.

Having an obvious compost container on your counter makes all the difference, especially if it’s located near where you prep and chop food. Many people put a collection bin on their kitchen counter, under the sink or beside the garbage. Outdoor locations nearby to the kitchen like a balcony or fire escape also work fine.

If putting food scraps directly into your bin makes your skin crawl a bit, you’re certainly not alone. By using certified compostable bags to line your bin, you’ll be able to control messiness and leaks effortlessly.

To keep odors down get a pail with a charcoal filter, keep your scraps in the fridge or just empty out your pail every few days.

Putting compostablesin the fridge has one major perk. No matter how late you are taking out the compost, things will not decompose as normal in the cold, so you’ll never need to worry about odors and insects in your kitchen.

Using your fridge is also great if you have sudden overload of green food scraps like from a party and you don’t have enough brown materials to match. When that happens you can just freeze the scraps for a while until you have enough browns to add them all to the pile.

Best Compost Bins

Now that you are up to speed on how to sort and collect your materials, let’s look into which composting system would be the right fit for you.

The four composting methods below are the easiest and fastest ones around. They are a breeze to setup and then you’ll be able to compost like a pro.

These systems have people with limited space in mind and can be scaled up or down depending on your needs. Plus they allow you to compost all year-round, even in winter. We’ve highlighted each one’s capacity, cost, speed and features to help you choose the composter that best suites your needs.

If you have a yard with space then you could go with an open pile compost but you would still have to deal with problems like vermin and the need to turn the pile with a shovel or pitchfork. Even if you have the yard space you should consider one of these four as they are pest proof and require way less effort, perfect for all those lazy composters out there.

Composting service

• Description: Easiest method but gives you the least compost
• Size: Collection bin can fit on counter or under sink
• Capacity: Good for 1-2 people, can add bins for larger households
• Cost: Free options in many cities, paid services are $10-30 per month 
• What can be composted: Depends on service but in general all food waste (including meat, bones, dairy, and fats), leaves, grass clippings as well as other yard waste
• Complexity to use: Low, just need to give your waste to the composting service
• Compost during winter: Yes
• “Yuck” factor: Low, materials are taken away weekly and can be stored in the fridge/freezer to stop odors
• Pest/vermin proof: Yes
• Speed: Depends on the service but soil is distributed to households at least once a year

It’s no surprise that while many people would like to start composting they just don’t want to be doing the labor. So the best way for many is to not compost at home and have someone else do it for them.

Many cities have either a municipal or private compost collection service that will take your waste for free or for a small monthly fee. They’ll give you a compost bucket, collect it on a regular schedule, oversee the whole process and offer to give you back some great soil at least once a year. So like that you can enjoy all the benefits of composting with the least amount of hassle.

Services can compost things you would find tricky at home like meat, bones and dairy products but be sure to check their rules for what you can and can’t add to your collection bin.

Waiting until your bin is full before setting it out for pick-up has the downside of attracting insects and other pests. So it’s better to send your bin out on a regular basis, even if it is not full, to avoid problems.

If you keep your compost bin in the freezer, your scraps won’t start to decompose until you take it out. Like this you can still avoid problems like odors and files even when you are lazy about taking it out 

To see what’s available start by checking with your city’s waste department to see if there is curbside pickup or a drop-off site available. Otherwise try Google searches like “compost service” plus your city or “compost near me”.

You can also find nearby compost facilities on these sites: 

• Llitterless.com
• Findacomposter.com
• Recyclesearch.com

If there aren’t any compost services in your area or if they aren’t affordable for you there’s an app for that.

ShareWaste is a free app that brings together people in your community that either compost themselves or those who are looking to drop-off compost materials. To start, you just choose whether you’re a donor or a host. Hosts get more compost for their garden, donors save their scraps from landfill.

You can browse the map to find hosts in your area. To protect user privacy, the exact address of the host is hidden, so users must message hosts through the app to arrange meeting times and drop-offs.

It’s really simple to use and is available around the world. The only downside is that you might meet some lovely like minded people in the process.

If none of those work for you there are also a few types of community run drop-off sites that might be nearby. If you shop at farmers markets or are a member of a community supported agriculture program, check with your farmer if they have a place where you can drop-off your food scraps. Community gardens or school gardens also may accept food scraps if they run a compost bin. Search online or ask around in your neighborhood to see what are the options in your area.

Vermicomposting

• Description: Best quality compost but do you mind worms?
• Size: Composter can fit on counter or under sink, comes in variable sizes
• Capacity: Good for 1-2 people, can add bins for larger households
• Cost: Free DIY options, $50-150 for pre-made ones
• What can be composted: Kitchen scraps (excluding meat, bones, dairy, and fats), shredded paper, not meant for large amounts of yard waste, but small amounts can be used for bedding.
• Complexity to use: Moderate, need to learn how to balance compost ingredients and care for worms
• Compost during winter: Yes 
• “Yuck” factor: Moderate, requires dealing with worms 
• Pest/vermin proof: Yes
• Speed: Two months needed for worms to get established in a new bin, after that every month new compost can be harvested

Vermicomposting is composting with worms. The use of worms accelerates the process of decomposition to produce a richer end product.

Wait a bin full of worms? In your house?

Though it may sound kind of gross, composting with the help of worms is super easy because they do all the work plus there are way less chances for bad odors. Because the worms eat so quickly and efficiently, your food scraps actually won’t have time to rot or create unpleasant smells.

Composting worms are safe to bring inside because they don’t burrow and travel like the worms you’d find in the backyard, so you don’t have to worry about them trying to leave the bin. They are much more happy to stay where its safe and there is food.

Letting worms recycle your food waste also saves your back because you don’t have to turn over the compost to keep it aerated.

Plus for those of you who garden, you’ll quickly start loving those worms once you see how their compost perks up even the most difficult of plants.

It's also just a great feeling to know that by helping and feeding these little guys, they’ll help you to reduce your footprint. 

To get started you can either make your own bin or buy one. Key things to look for are systems that are stackable so that your setup can grow or shrink depending on your needs and a design that allows you to drain excess fluid easily. 

Stackable worm composters allow you to harvest compost from your bin easily. As the first bin fills with compost, you add another stackable tray on top. The worms migrate up to the next tray, lured by the presence of fresh food. The finished compost is left behind in the lower tray: it’s that simple.

Many designs use a spout or small drain to collect excess liquid from the bin. This fluid is another type of fertilizer that you can use on your plants.

If you are on a tight budget these two Do It Yourself videos will give you some options on how to setup vermicomposting in a way that fits the space you have while keeping costs down.

Once you have your bin ready you’ll need to make it cozy for your worms, so fill the bin with moistened bedding before adding the worms and their food.

The most common bedding material is newspaper, but you can also use:

• Paper scraps/junk mail
• Egg cartons
• Cardboard (with no wax coating)
• Non-glossy magazines
• Straw
• Coir (coconut husk fiber)
• Leaves

Just make sure you shred it and soak it in water before adding. The bedding should be about as wet as a wrung-out sponge: not soggy, but not dry. You can easily wet down your bedding as you add it using a spray bottle. If the bin seems too wet, just add additional dry bedding to help absorb the extra moisture.

Add one or two handfuls of garden soil or sand to provide some grit which helps with the worm's digestion of food.

Once you have your bin setup you’ll need some worms. The best composting worms are red wrigglers, available at bait shops or worm farms. Try searching online for “worm farms” or “bait shops near me”.

How many should you get though?

For a houseold of 1-2 people we suggest you start with one pound of worms. A pound of worms has about 1000 worms and should be more than two large handfuls.

Worms will normally eat half their body weight every day. But when you first get them they will be a little slow to start. Allow a few days for the worms to adjust to their new environment. After a few days, begin to feed the worms lightly.

You can collect food waste in the fridge and add it to the bin once or twice a week to disturb the worms less often.

When you feed your worms, dig a hole in the bedding, place the food scraps in the hole, then recover them with the bedding. To prevent flies and odors always remember to cover your fresh organic waste with a small layer of soil or brown materials like leaves and paper.

If you have the space its good to keep some bedding material and soil handy beside the bin, so it’s easy to add some when you put in food scraps or if you need to balance out moisture in the bin.

Worms will eat food scraps of any size but they don’t have any teeth, so if their food is chopped up it breaks down faster and the worms can eat it sooner.

It’s better to underfeed your worms than it is to overfeed them, so give them less if there is uneaten food visible after one week.

Worms prefer a temperature of about 17C-22C (70-80F) and will not survive freezing nor high temperatures. The best option is to keep your bin indoors to avoid extreme temperatures. Don’t place the bin too close to a heating device like a radiator or heater.

If you push the compost to one side of the bin while adding bedding and food to the other side, the worms will slowly migrate to the other side of the bin in search of fresh food. You can then harvest worm-free compost easily while keeping your bin in constant use.

In a stackable system, worms move upward as materials are added and makes harvesting of the finished compost in the tray below super easy.

If your bin smells bad, you may be overfeeding, or not properly ventilating. Either way there are simple solutions to resolve these problems.

If when you are feeding your worms you find there is still a significant amount of food in the bin, wait awhile before adding more. Remember that adding food contributes to the moisture in the bin, which is the next problem.

If the bin is too wet or compacted, gently stir the contents and add more bedding material to dry it. This will also allow more oxygen into the bin and reduce odors. Leave the lid off or ajar to help it dry out more quickly.

Tumbling composter

• Description: Middle ground between, cost, speed and soil quality
• Size: Collection bin can fit on counter or under sink, composter comes in variable sizes
• Capacity: Good for up to 4 people, can add bins for larger households
• Cost: Free DIY options, $50-350 for pre-made ones 
• What can be composted: Kitchen scraps (excluding meat, bones, dairy, and fats), leaves, grass clippings, and other yard waste
• Complexity to use: Moderate-to-low, need to learn how to balance compost ingredients 
• Compost during winter: Yes
• “Yuck” factor: Moderate-to-low, tumblers keeps excess moisture and odors down
• Pest/vermin proof: Yes
• Speed: 4-6 weeks

A tumbling composter is a fully sealed container which can be rotated to mix the composting materials. Turning the pile speeds up the process by aerating and mixing compost materials, the result is rich compost ready to use in way less time

Tumbling composters transform your waste into soil effortlessly plus their design controls common composting problems making it an easy choice especially for those that want access to great quality soil.

Since they are elevated off the ground, they don’t allow rodents or other pests into the compost, and the enclosed bin keeps odors down. They also make turning the material easy, aerating and mixing things for faster results without breaking your back.

To get started you can either make your own bin or buy one. Key things to look for are insulation for faster composting and side by side bins that spin together but maintain separate compartments.

Insulation allows the compost temperature to rise faster for more efficient composting and also helps keep your bin working through winter, even if you leave it outside.

By combining both the ability to trap heat as well as aeration from the tumbling, you’ll be able to make high quality compost in less time.

Having a composter with two separate bins means you can actively add material to one side of the bin while allowing the second side to rest and thoroughly decompose. One side is filled while the compost in the other side matures. Once ready, the finished compost can be emptied from the other compartment and the cycle begins again. Like this you can keep composting continuously all year long.

If you are on a tight budget these two Do It Yourself videos will give you some options on how to make a tumbling composter while keeping costs down.

https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Tumbling-Composter

Don’t forget to crank the tumbler handle to turn the pile once or twice each time you add new material, this keeps the compost well aerated. To prevent flies and odor always remember to cover your fresh organic waste with a small layer of soil or brown materials like leaves and paper. Its good to keep some brown materials and soil handy beside the bin, so it’s easy to add some when you put in food scraps or if you need to balance out moisture in the bin.

Electric composter

• Description: Fastest method but no low cost option 
• Size: Composter can fit on counter or under sink
• Capacity: Run once for up to 4 people per day, can do multiple cycles for larger households 
• Cost: $300-500
• What can be composted: All food waste (including meat, bones, dairy, and fats)
• Complexity to use: Low, requires little to no management or composting knowledge
• Compost during winter: Yes
• “Yuck” factor: Low, odors are minimal or nonexistent
• Pest/vermin proof: Yes
• Speed: 3-6 hours per cycle

Electric composters work differently than the other composting systems we looked at so far. You simply add your waste to the machine and let the it do the rest with the press of a button.

These machines require little to no management, making it perfect for those who don’t want to be bothered with the nitty gritty details.

You can toss in pretty much any type of food scrap either cooked or uncooked items including things that can’t be handled by all systems like meat, bones and dairy, so that makes it easy.

In 3-6 hours your scraps get turned into a potent fertilizer for your plants.

They use agitators and heaters to break down food scraps into an odorless powder that is sterile and doesn’t attract bugs. 

Odors are minimal or nonexistent thanks to the integrated carbon filters, so you can have one even in a small kitchen without worrying about smells. Plus they are small enough to fit either on or under your counter so you can put it wherever you have space.

Electric composters are compact, easy to use and keep the garbage from stinking. The only issue with these systems is that they are the most expensive type.

The high price of these machines might be a deal-breaker for some since composting is something that you can do for free. That being said, the extra benefits of odorless, super-fast composting that can handle meat and other usually difficult to compoost materials is something that this unit holds over every other system on our list. 

To find out more check out the sites of the three electric composters currently available on the market:

• FoodCycler
• Zera
• Tero

Troubleshooting your compost bin

Sometimes you might run into problems with your compost bin. Luckily there are only a few ways things can go off. Let’s look at common problems and easy ways to fix them.

When troubleshooting your compost try adding browns, greens, water or soil depending on the issue and then wait a few days to see what happens. The good news is that things will break down and turn into compost pretty much no matter what you do or don’t do.

You don’t need to worry about exact ratios here; rather, let yourself rely on what you’re seeing and smelling. A rule of thumb is, if you can smell it, add more carbon.

There isn’t really a way to mess up your compost. If something seems a little astray, you just make a minor tweak and you’re good to go.

Compost is wet or slimy

Water is a key component in making compost, but you don't need too much. Your compost pile should be moist like a damp sponge, not soggy or waterlogged.

There is usually enough moisture in kitchen scraps so you wouldn’t need to add any extra. But if you live in a area with a dry climate adding some water may be helpful.

Whenever the compost looks a little too wet or draws flies, simply add in more brown materials to absorb moisture.

Compost is dry, nothing is happening

If it seems like your compost isn’t progressing or changing, add more green material or try adding some water.

If you’ve tried adding some water and more greens, and your pile still isn’t breaking down, try adding some soil in. A little bit of soil will introduce many soil organisms into your pile and acts as an accelerator.

One last thing is that chopping and shredding will help speed up the composting process. That’s because smaller pieces mean more surface area and more surface area means quicker decomposition.

Compost is starting to smell

If a compost pile starts to get stinky, it may be a sign that something's wrong.

If your compost smells sour like ammonia, the most common reason is too much green material and/or a lack of brown material.

If the compost smells like sulphur or rotten eggs, then there is a lack of oxygen causing the pile to decompose anaerobically. Turn the pile adding browns as necessary to absorb any excess moisture.

Dry topsoil sprinkled on top of a compost pile will also act as an absorbent for offensive odours.

Finished compost: When is your compost ready to be used and how to use it?

Compost is ready to be used when it looks like dark crumbly topsoil, has a pleasant earthy odor and the original material (with a few exceptions such as egg shells) are no longer recognizable.

If you really want to be sure that your compost is ready try doing the “bag test.” Put a handful of moist compost into a zip-lock bag and press out the air before sealing. Leave it for three days, then open the bag. If you detect an ammonia or sour odor, the microorganisms are still at work and you need to let your compost finish curing. Test another sample of compost again in a week.

If you have plants at home, you’ll find good use for your compost. Add some on top of soil in house plants, on your garden beds, lawn or around trees. If you are mixing it into the existing soil of a bed or potted plant, you can use two thirds of the original soil and replace one third with compost.

If you don’t have any plants there are many ways to share your compost:

• Track down a community garden that will gladly take it off your hands
• Donate it to a school garden, more and more schools are adding gardening programs
• Some farmers markets also serve as drop-off locations for compost or food scraps
• Sell it or give it away on Craigslist
• Plenty of plants and trees in your neighborhood that would be grateful for some compost
• Gift jars of compost to your gardener or houseplant loving friends and family

Is starting a compost bin worth it?

Even if you start out small, there are many concerns that come up before trying out composting. Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Will it smell?

Odors are one of the first things people worry about when they are considering composting. If you do something wrong will it just end up as a mound of smelly garbage?

Not to worry, the only smell your compost should have is a faint but pleasant earthy smell kinda like healthy soil or a forest floor. 

If you notice an off or rotten smell add more browns. Mixing the pile will also reduce odors. Both of these help to lower moisture levels which is the other source of potential problems.

A good habit to stop odors before they happen is to always be sure to cover things with a layer of browns or soil when you add greens to your compost.

There’s no need to worry about doing things wrong because all you need to do is make an adjustment if things are off, check again the next day and repeat if necessary. Adjusting things as you go along is all you need to do, its that easy.

Finally don’t forget that if you choose to use an electric composter or a composting service, the chances of odors are really low since things get processed so quickly.

Does composting attract vermin and other critters?

Insects are attracted to kitchen scraps with high sugar content like fruit and vegetable peelings. By covering green materials with browns each time you add some to your bin you will make sure that they are not a problem.

Vermin and other animals are also attracted to odors, especially if those odors are meats, fish, or dairy products. So to keep things simple its easier to just not put those items in your compost.

Generally its odors that make your compost interesting for critters. Earthy compost smells won’t attract a party to your bin so just follow the advice above to keep odors down.

As with odors, don’t forget that if you choose to use an electric composter or a composting service, the chances of critters are also really low since things get processed so quickly.

I have no space in my home

You want to compost but you feel you can’t because of lack of space. The fun thing about composting is that you can always start small and grow your system as you need.

It's better to start slow and scale up your composting as you go along to avoid extra costs as well as hassles. Even if you can only compost half of what's possible at first, that's a good start and then you can expand once you have things going for a few months.

Also don’t forget that two of the composting ways we mentioned here are so compact, that you can put your bin under your kitchen sink. If your place is really small try those.

Seems too complicated to work for me

Composting can seem intimidating when you start but it doesn’t have to be a big commitment.

It shouldn’t have to feel like a terrible chore or guilty weight, just do what you can. Every little step we take adds up.

Don’t get too hung up on doing everything 100% perfectly, every scrap of food we can keep out of a landfill is good for our planet.

Just start and before you know it, you’ll be using one of the easy methods in this article to compost like a pro.

Isn’t composting expensive?

The cost of composting is largely in the initial setup. From high end electric composters to DIY bins, there’s a variety of options to fit your budget, so you don’t need to purchase anything fancy to get started. 

If you are at a point where you want to start composting but have limited resources, going with a DIY bin is just as effective.

Don’t forget that some municipalities will subsidize the purchase of a compost bin or offer a compost collection service. It's a good idea to check what's available in your area so you know your options.

Once you start lazy composting, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner

You wanted to compost for some time now, but getting started seemed daunting. Or maybe you had a bin in the past but have written off composting as too smelly or too time consuming.

But when you toss food in the garbage or see what’s in there, you think to yourself there’s got to be a better way. 

After looking at the options in this article maybe you realized how easy composting could be.

The thing is that once you start, you’ll be amazed at how much your waste goes down.

40% of the average household's garbage is compostable, so you’ll end up cutting your garbage footprint by a lot. 

Composting is one of the most satisfying types of recycling because unlike your bottles and cans that get sent away, you can watch your waste turn into earth right there in your bin.

It feels great to know you can take what would otherwise get stuck in a landfill, and turn it into nutrient rich soil instead.

The four methods in this article are by far the easiest ways to get composting. Most days you just need to put your garbage in a different bin than your trash can and that’s it. 

Plus you can do it all without it costing you an arm and a leg. Once you start lazy composting you won’t be worrying about smells or critters, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t try this out sooner.