Compost bin: tips to use in the kitchen

Organic waste is collected in compost bins. Here you can find out which bucket is the best, what goes in it and what can still be done with your waste.

Some people only see leftovers in their organic waste that have to be collected and thrown away. Seen as a whole, however, they are resources: they contain nutrients and carbon and can be used again. This can be done at the recycling yard, on a compost heap, or even in your own kitchen.

However, the first step is always choosing a compost bin and filling it correctly. To keep annoying flies away from your compost bin, we have collected a few tips. Finally, we briefly introduce two alternatives to normal disposal: The Worm Box and the Bokashi Bucket.

Compost bins in kitchen and household

In order to collect waste for the bio bin or composter in the kitchen, you can usually use small collection containers. A simple container with a plastic lid is often sufficient. But of course there are also the Ferraris and Rolls-Royces among the compost bins. In the following we present some models.

Enamelled compost bins with a large capacity and a wooden handle stand for longevity, a timeless design and for trips to the bio bin or compost bin that are as infrequent as possible. When using a (compostable) garbage bag, there is hardly any ventilation, so that fermentation processes and unpleasant-smelling liquids can occur inside - also because of the large volume of 20 liters. The price here is just over 20 euros.

Go two steps further compost bins with dishwasher safe plastic buckets. Ventilation is made possible here by a perforated cover. An activated charcoal filter is located behind the ventilation holes, which is supposed to filter the escaping air from odours. Cleaning is therefore easier and the development of odors - which can also attract fruit flies - is kept within limits. However, since the 5 liter plastic bucket has to fit in the dishwasher, the capacity is a simpler modelopposite reduced. The price is just over 20 euros.

Perhaps a little less chic is a simple plastic bucket with a lid and handle. They are available in different sizes and are also suitable for the dishwasher. The lid closes the bucket so that no odors escape. The lack of oxygen can also lead to fermentation processes here, which also produce foul-smelling liquids. According to the manufacturer, this bucket is sustainably manufactured and easily fully recyclable. Depending on the size, the price is between 8 and 12 euros.

There are also plastic buckets with ventilation and activated carbon filters. The advantages are the same as those of the enamel model presented above, only the look is different. Like the simple plastic bucket from Rotho presented above, this one is also sustainably produced and easily recyclable.

All four options are available in a wide variety of versions, designs and sizes - there is certainly a suitable model for every type of user. But the type of use is probably much more important: emptying is sometimes uncomfortable when old, smelly organic waste is stubbornly stuck in corners and cracks of the container. To solve this unpleasant problem, there are three ways:

1. A biowaste bin with a smooth interior and no corners: any dirt just slides out, or at least can be easily rinsed out with a little water.
2. You can also use a bin liner made of recyclable paper or plastic. Available paper bags are always made from recycled paper bags and are never printed with toxic mineral inks that could harm the microorganisms in the compost.
3. You can also line the bottom of your bin with recycled, unprinted paper. Black prints can also be composted, but colored and shiny ones are better off not. However, the use of paper and paper bags is only recommended for small containers with sufficient ventilation: If the compost is left on for a long time, the paper will soften and stick all the more firmly to the walls of the container.
4. Fermentation processes cause sticky liquid to form and thus newspaper or rubbish to stick to the bucket. The smaller and better ventilated your compost bin is, the less fermentation processes take place and the less it sticks inside.

Tip: Disposing of simple newspapers in your organic waste is harmless, since the printer's ink is no longer contaminated with lead these days. However, it is still common to fix the printing ink with resins and use mineral oils, which, however, evaporate after printing. Neither causes any damage in the compost. However, we strongly advise against composting glossy printed magazines. Heavy metals are added to the printing inks used, which must not be allowed to get into the recycling cycle of the compost industry.

Summary of compost bins in the kitchen and household:

• Various volumes of containers are available in enamel or plastic, and with or without a vented lid.
• Aerating the compost reduces fermentation of the waste.
• An activated carbon filter integrated in the lid reduces odors and thus prevents fruit flies from being attracted.
• Small volume reduces fermentation and makes cleaning easier - for example in the dishwasher. Large volume means fewer voids.
• Smooth and round inner surfaces, the use of compost bags or newspaper, and small, well-ventilated compost bins prevent the contents from sticking in the bin.

Compost bin: what goes in it?

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) is responsible for the legal regulation of waste management. However, there is no nationwide regulation on the content of the organic waste bin, because the local waste disposal company always has the last word when it comes to filling the organic waste bin. What at first glance seems unnecessarily cumbersome is ultimately due to practice: Depending on the existing composting system and technology at local recycling centers, there may be deviations from the general recommendations of the Ministry of the Environment. If you want to dispose of something and don't know how, you will find a useful sorting aid here.

The following usually belongs in the compost bin:

• Vegetable and fruit leftovers (including citrus fruits)
• Leftover salad (also with dressing)
• Coffee and tea leftovers, with bags - if without metal
• All dairy products - in smaller quantities (except milk)
• Bone (in normal household quantities)
• Egg Shells
• Nutshells
• Withered bouquetsand potted plants with soil (no tie or metal)
• Shrub and tree trimmings, bark and branches
• Mowing
• Perennials (must remove plastic tie)
• Wild herbs
• Moss

This usually doesn't belong in the compost bin:

• Packaging remnants
• Broken Glass
• Stones and Clay
• Plastic and metal foils

The following are treated differently by county:

• Small Animal Litter
• Boiled, S alted
• Meat leftovers and large quantities of dairy products

Tip: If in doubt, get information from your local waste disposal company so that your waste does not cause any problems when it is recycled. The more impurities that get into the compost, the lower the quality of the resulting compost and the more difficult it is to sort the compost. This can also affect you personally if you want to buy compost from the recycling center or purchase locally produced horticultural products that have been produced using locally produced compost. Because vegetable and other garden centers also like to use compost.

Disposal on your own compost heap

Imagine not needing a bio bin, saving transport routes and having compost at a great price: for free - not counting your own sweat and work. Waste disposal by composting in your own garden is the most ecological way of dealing with organic waste. However, since the composting on the private compost heap takes place as a so-called "cold rotting", the compost must be separated in a slightly different way. For example, weed seeds, plant diseases and raw eggs should not end up in your compost. Everything else can be found in the table below.

Suitable Household waste	Suitable garden waste	Unsuitable Waste
Fruit and Vegetable Leftovers	Lawn/green cuttings	Glass
Coffee and tea leftovers	Leaves	Metals
Meatless Leftovers	Hedge/branch trimming	Root weeds
Citrus and banana peel (to a lesser extent)	seed weeds seedless; Sawdust and wood shavings if made from untreated wood	Large quantities of dairy products
Pure Wood Ash	Plant residues like Perennial clippings or crop residues	Raw Egg Shells
Boiled Egg Shells	Roots and soil from old planters	Vacuum Cleaner Bags
Dust, hair, fingernails	Tie and bags made of natural material (jute, hemp)	Paper or cardboard with colorful or glossy prints
Litter for small animals, if made from untreated wood	Mineral soil (sand, clay, silt, stones)	Plastic wrap or non-degradable trash bags
Black printed non-glossy recycled paper	Moss	Plant remains of diseased plants

Tip: If you are planning to start your own compost or have questions about running an existing pile, you can read about the knowledge you need to know about proper composting here.

Compost bin: prevent and fight flies

Particularly in summer and in rural areas they can become a real plague: fruit flies, vinegar flies or fruit flies. The troublemakers are attracted by the smell of compost and fruit and try to get into our four walls. Especially the small representatives of the family Drosophilidae (fruit flies), known as fruit flies, can be very annoying. They use ripe, injured or fermenting fruit to lay their eggs - and these are often found in the compost bin. We have collected tips for prevention and control. You can also find more detailed information on controlling fruit flies in our special article.

Preventive measures against fruit flies

• Keep your compost sealed or use a bin with a built in filter.
• Fly screens in front of the windows prevent flies from entering from outside.
• Air the room as often as possible to drive out the ripening gases that attract fruit flies. It is best to do this at night when the flies are inactive.
• Only buy fruit that has been free of flies in the store. Otherwise, the females have probably already laid eggs on the skin of the fruit, so that they get into your kitchen. Wash purchased fruit.
• Fruit can usually be stored in the refrigerator, or preferably in a cool, closed pantry.
• Take compost, used glass, empties and also the yellow sack outside more often in spring and summer - this way the appetizing gases develop less strongly.
• Keep your kitchen particularly clean: from worktops or from aroundThe sensitive organs of the fruit flies perceive smells rising from fruit peels very well.

Measures to combat fruit flies

• Clean the affected area - surfaces, floor and trash can should be empty and clean.
• Removing or thoroughly washing fruit to which fruit fly eggs may still be attached. These are preferably deposited in soft places, hollows and stalks.
• Thorough ventilation (with fly screens or at night) and then setting up bait traps containing vinegar, wine, fruit juice or erythritol. In 2014, a scientific experiment demonstrated that the sweetener erythritol, which is well tolerated by humans, not only acts as an attractant on fruit flies, but also reliably kills them.
• You might also consider setting up trap plants: the Bacopa (Pinguicula vulgaris) attracts all sorts of insects and digests them on its sticky rosette of leaves. However, the location should have a high level of humidity, which is why cultivation in a humid indoor greenhouse is recommended.

Tip: Pinguicula vulgaris also reliably attracts and kills fungus gnats. Incidentally, you should not confuse these with fruit flies: fungus gnats lay their eggs in moist potting soil and are unfortunately often brought into the home through potted plants. They can then colonize any existing potted plants and even cause root damage there. Fungus gnats have an all-black body, a round head, and resemble tiny winged ants. You can read this article on how to fight fungus gnats.

Compost bin in the house: make compost without a garden?

Instead of filling a waste bin, you can also recycle your organic waste in your kitchen. This saves you walking, provides you with valuable fertilizer and is also an option in a city apartment without a garden.

Worm box as composter

In a worm box, special compost worms and other typical compost inhabitants are used to produce so-called worm compost from your organic waste. This is very nutrient-rich and thus most closely corresponds to fresh organic compost. You can build worm boxes yourself with a little manual skill, but there are also many different models available for purchase. A well "run-in" worm box does not make manyCircumstances: The worms like it moist, it should be room temperature and the compost must be layered sufficiently loosely.

In this article you will learn all about compost worms and here you will also find a simple guide to building a worm box. It is not a problem at all to dispose of the waste of a four-person household in a worm bin. The size - and in some cases also the look - corresponds to a stool or a large box. You can see examples of worm boxes here.

Bokashi as a composter

Bokashi buckets can also be operated in the apartment. Basically, it's just big buckets that can be sealed airtight and have a tap at the bottom from which the resulting liquid can be tapped off as liquid fertilizer. The idea of the bokashi comes from Japan, where centuries ago farmers made the bokashi product from crop residues. The Bokashi bucket does not decompose and compost, but rather ferments: the otherwise undesirable fermentation processes are promoted in the absence of air. This is lactic acid fermentation, which is also used to make tasty cheese or sauerkraut, and produces finished bokashi within two to three weeks. Bokashi is soft and decomposes quickly in the bed or compost heap. You can find out everything you need to know about using a bokashi bucket properly in our special article.