If your family is looking to do something good for the planet, it’s hard to find any practice as simple, effective or enjoyable as home composting. Compared with other eco-friendly activities, composting requires almost no major lifestyle changes or financial investment — yet the benefits are nearly endless. To help your family get started, we’ve created the ultimate beginners guide to home composting. 

What Is Composting?

Composting is the natural process by which all living things decompose. When plants and animals die, they are broken down by insects, bacteria and fungi, until they take the form of loose organic matter called compost. This compost then feeds the microorganisms in the earth, and the result is dark, extremely fertile soil. Sprinkle a layer of your own homemade compost on top of your soil once a year, and look forward to an eternally lush, beautiful garden!

The Benefits of Composting

• Reducing Landfill Waste: Composting diverts food and plant waste ending up in landfills, increasing their long-term capacity.

• Limiting Soil Erosion: By strengthening soil retention, erosion by wind or rain is dramatically reduced. 

• Sequestering Carbon: Poor soil quality releases carbon in the atmosphere. By building soil structure, carbon stays rooted in the soil. 

• Saving Water: Soil with compost mixed in holds onto more water, reducing plant requirements. 

• Replacing Fertilizers: Compost acts as a nutrient-rich additive to soil, eliminating the need for expensive, environmentally damaging fertilizers. 

• Zero Cost: Apart from a minimal initial cost to build a compost bin, home composting is completely free!

How to Build a Compost Bin

The first step to home composting is to create your bin. All you need is a couple of wooden pallets, laid vertically and connected with wire or heavy twine. The ideal size for a compost bin is 3’ by 3’, as one cubic yard will result in hot compost (the gold standard, as heat-loving bacteria break down materials the fastest). If you’re less handy and don’t mind spending a bit more, you can buy any number of compost tumblers from online retailers, for around $50 – $100. 

How to Compost at Home

Once your bin is set up, you’re ready to start filling it — with fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, small pieces of shredded natural cardboard, tea bags, crushed egg shells, and grass clippings. You’ll want to avoid composting meat and bones, dairy products, and pet waste. What most home composters do is keep a small trash can in your kitchen, and empty it every day or two. 

Once you’ve filled up your bin, you’ll need to ‘turn’ your pile, which means moving the lower parts of your pile to the top and vice versa. Leave it for a month and turn it again, you’ll notice that the contents become finer and smaller with each turn. Once it resembles crumbly soil, you’ve got perfect compost that’s ready to use! 

At Pura Stainless, we’re committed to helping you make healthy decisions for your family, and our planet. Which is why we offer a line of reusable, sustainable water bottles and lunch containers made with zero plastic and are Made Safe™ certified, so they’re free from over 80,000 toxins! We wish you luck and success on your composting journey, we’re sure you’ll love it as much as we do!