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For some reason, for me there's always been a higher barrier to entry to composting versus, say, recycling, or avoiding plastic bags and water bottles. Part of this is that I don't have a yard; I have public park. For years, a fellow apartment-dwelling friend of mine has collected all of her compost in a large plastic bag that she stores in her freezer until she can drop it off at a city composting facility or throw it into a yard-owning friend's heap. It's smart and doesn't require tons of effort, but it's still not what I'd call easy.

Luckily, some cities are putting a lot more effort into making it even easier - in SF, for example, we not only have communal veggie gardens popping up behind and between apartment buildings, but we also have a major city composting program, where you can chuck your compostables into a green bin just like you'd throw a can into the blue recycling one, and the city will pick it up and put it to use.

-Jenifer...off to take a walk down easy street...
Posted by: hsnavely on 04/28/2008
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Lanie  on April 28, 2008 at 05:46 AM 1
Anyone know of any good, worth the $$$, small indoor composters? I live in a small apartment and would love to find something I could use.
Risa  on April 28, 2008 at 07:09 AM 2
I just found it interesting that several of the items you list as "yes" you can compost in your first WANNA TRY were catagorized as "no no" items by the last WANNA TRY website. My family has been composting for the last five years and it simply just becomes a way of life once you resolve to doing it. It really doesn't take much extra effort. We use some of the compost in our family garden and the rest goes to the village recycle center. When you add composting to basic recycling, it makes a HUGE difference to the amount of trash a family of six produces. We now can survive on the one trash can we are provided by our village.
Shell  on April 28, 2008 at 07:36 AM 3
Currently, I keep a bowl on the kitchen counter that I fill and then dump in a spot near my garden. I would like to find an AFFORDABLE composting container as my dogs (and other animals) think it is their feast! Can the Biter provide more economical solutions? Anyone else know of something under $100?
Amaliya  on April 28, 2008 at 07:48 AM 4
I've been collecting my compost-ibles and taking it to a friend's house. My next step is to try this Happy Farmer bokashi composter. Check it out, http://www.scdworld.com/product.cfm?product_id=030203 It's under $100. The only downside I see is not having access to it for two weeks, buying the bokashi and you eventually need to place the compost in the ground. It would alleviate space in the fridge from the system I have now and its not suppose to smell.
christy  on April 28, 2008 at 09:37 AM 5
I live in a condo and don't have any dirt to compost in. I want to compost and have considered a lot of options but I keep coming back to the materials that they are made of. I don't want to compost in deadly plastic (who knows what is leaching into the compost and then into my container garden, which by the way is non-existent until I can figure out the compost thing!); I can't imagine that recycled plastic is any better but in fact worse - wouldn't it be much easier to leach toxins in this state?; metal (I saw a worm composter in metal) makes me nervous too because of the toxins that leach from metal unless it is manufactured in a country with high standards (the entire EU for instance. The US, China and India - not so much). What to do?
janice  on April 28, 2008 at 09:39 AM 6
To answer Shell's question, that's easy. I have two suggestions: 1. Buy a roll of sturdy wire mesh, stronger than chicken wire--I think it's called hardware fabric or something like that. Anyway, form it into a round enclosure that's at least 3' in diameter, and use wire twist-ties to hold it together. 2. Take an old plastic trash bin with lid. Cut the bottom off. Place it in your compost spot. Voila: instant protection from dogs, and the lid keeps the moisture in.
janice  on April 28, 2008 at 09:47 AM 7
RE Happy Farmer Bokashi, my question is: during the two weeks that it's processing the food waste, you have no place to put NEW food waste. The company ought to sell the units in sets of two...! That said, it could be a good solution if you don't have access to any outdoor composting space.
kristen  on April 28, 2008 at 10:33 AM 8
I have tried a few different types of composting: stacked box, tumbler, & "passive pile". We really like, (for all year, always ready to add) the NatureMill. Bit more $$ than what the previous posts would like, but in MN, the composting outside is limited (nonexistant) in the winter. We put ours right next to the garbage so the choice is right there...garbage or compost. We have cut our garbage service off...generating less than 1 gal/ wk...less than some people have in their cars in a week! Happy Composting!
Crystal Miron  on April 28, 2008 at 11:42 AM 9
If you can't use the compost yourself, there are plenty of gardeners who would love to take it off your hands. Post a notice for free compost in your neighborhood! If no one contacts you, widen your net by using sites like craigslist or freecycle. I have only been composting for a few months, but I can definitely see the difference when I take the trash out. It seems kind of silly that the trash company gives us this HUGE trash barrel and I usually only end up with about 3 "kitchen sized" 13 gallon trash bags worth of trash a week. Wouldn't the world be a better place if all major cities offered compost pickup? I suppose that is something of a foolish idealist wish, since here in Georgia they won't even pick up glass and paper for recycling! (I have to drive it myself to the transfer station a few times a month).
Stacey  on April 28, 2008 at 02:38 PM 10
I guess you can call what I do in my backyard the "passive pile" method. The previous owner of my house didn't bother raking his leaves last fall, so I'm pulling them all to the back yard. Some are going into mulch for my veggie garden, others are getting used as layers for my food scraps to compost. At my old house, I'd just dig a hole for the food waste, then layer that with soil. I'd dig a new hole as one would fill up, and after a few years, we had really rich soil.
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