Creating compost is as valuable as it is variable. There are many ways to break down organic matter, so the question becomes: which composting method will work for your home?

This article will break down 12 different composting methods and technologies, their pros, cons, costs, and provide instructions for each.

Let’s dig in. 

1. Compost Pile or “Heap” Compost

Otherwise known as the “hurry up and wait” method, a traditional compost heap is best for those lucky enough to have enough yard space to permit a large pile of moist detritus. Heap compost can be either cold, or hot. 

Note: What’s the difference between cold and hot compost? Our article “How Compost Works: A No-Nonsense Guide To Compost Science” will walk you through it.

MATERIALS

• Yard space

• Shovel

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts) 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Designate area in your yard or garden (minimum 2 ft x 2 ft)

• Collect browns & lay them down as a base layer

• Collect “greens” & add them to brown layer

• Add browns & greens regularly (1:2)

• Ensure heap remains moist (like a damp sponge)

• *Optional (for hot compost): Mix once a week, or when internal temperature reaches 150 - 160℉

PROS

• Inexpensive

• Zero prep work required

• Hot or cold composting

• Easy to harvest

CONS

• Requires regular manual turning (if hot)

• Might attract pests

• Emits methane

• Requires ample yard space

• Difficult to compost during winter months (if not impossible)

• Unattractive & unappealing

• Cannot compost meat or dairy 

COST

$ free 

DURATION

3 months - 18 months

2. Pit or Trench Composting

Like the name implies, this method involves digging a pit or trench in your yard, adding food scraps to the hole, then covering it back up again. This method is best for gardeners who know well in advance of the growing season the area in which they’d like to have rich, fertile soil.

MATERIALS

• Yard space

• Shovel

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts) 

HOW-TO

• Designate area in your yard or garden (minimum 2 ft x 2 ft)

• Collect “greens” & add them to the hole

• Cover the “greens” with soil and pack down with shovel

*Optional (to protect soil layer): add “brown” material over “greens” prior to covering the hole with soil 

PROS

• Inexpensive

• No turning required

• Invisible

• Feeds garden in situ (you can bury scraps wherever you plan to garden)

CONS

• Requires digging a hole/trench

• Composting meat or dairy products might create pathogens & attract pests

• Cannot harvest compost after the fact

• Takes a long time to break down

• Hot composting not possible

• Cannot compost during winter months

• Not portable

• You need to store food waste until you can bury it

• Requires garden/yard space

COST

$ free 

DURATION

6 months - 12 months

3. Compost Tumbler Method  

A compost tumbler is an ingenious design which makes aerating compost as easy as turning a handle. This is one of the choice composting methods for folks who live in a condo, or with very little (or no) yard space. 

MATERIALS

• 55 gallon drum with turning mechanism/compost tumbler

• Shovel-full of rich soil (added once or twice per load) to increase microbes

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts) 

HOW-TO

• Install tumbler - preferably an outdoor space with good ventilation

• Collect “greens” & add them to the tumbler

• Collect “browns” and add them to the tumbler

• Turn handle 1-3 times a week

PROS

• Easy to turn

• Can be kept in small (outdoor) spaces due to small size

• Keeps out vermin

CONS

• Hot composting is not easy due to turning regularity, which spreads pathogens & weed seeds

• Limited volume

• Harvesting is difficult (awkward to empty)

• Cannot compost easily during winter months

• Cannot compost meat & dairy

COST

$ 20 - 225

DURATION

3 - 6 months

4. Compost Bin Method

A compost bin is a bit like a tumbler and heap method combined: a contained heap, or a motionless tumbler!

MATERIALS

• A drum/bin/bucket, preferably dark in color with a lid and an open bottom

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts) 

HOW-TO

• Place bin outside (on grass)

• Collect browns & lay them down as base layer

• Collect “greens” & add them to brown layer

• Add browns & greens regularly (1:2)

• Ensure heap remains moist (like a damp sponge)

• *Optional (for hot compost): Mix once a week, or when internal temperature peaks at 150 - 160℉ 

PROS

• Small-space friendly

• Low-maintenance

• Keeps out vermin

CONS

• Outdoors only

• Turning is a challenge

• Depending on the bin material (wood), may rot under wet conditions

• Limited volume

• Might generate odors

• Cannot compost meat or dairy products

COST

$ 25 minimum

DURATION

3 - 12 months

5. Three-Bin Compost Method

This method is one of the most efficient composting methods, though it is one of the most involved. The three-bin system works in a level system: the first bin is for the “just-started” compost pile.

Once this part heats up to a peak of 160℉, you’re ready to send the contents of the first bin into the second bin, leaving your first bin available for more compost materials. Repeat process until you have a beautiful finished product in your third and final bin.

MATERIALS

• Three-bin compost system (wood, wire, mesh, plastic)

• Shovel/Pitchfork

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts) 

HOW-TO

• Install a three bin/box system in your yard

• Collect browns & lay them down as base layer

• Collect “greens” & add them to brown layer

• Add browns & greens regularly (1:2)

• Ensure heap remains moist (like a damp sponge)

• When internal temperature peaks at 160℉, switch compost contents into the second bin

• Repeat until bin contents have “cooked” through and you are left with a third bin full of completed compost 

PROS

• Hot compost option

• Easy to access

• Easy harvesting

• Easy to maintain once installed

• Simple concept

CONS

• Outdoors only

• Manual turning required

• Depending on the bin material (wood), may rot under wet conditions

• Not portable

• Requires ample yard space

• Cannot compost meat or dairy products

• Can be expensive & time-consuming to build 

COST

 $500 - $2,000 

DURATION

3 months - 12 months

6. Vermicompost

Vermicompost is an excellent option for the busy, small-space gardener. By getting worms to do most of the work for you, this is one of the most hands-off compost methods around.

Red Wiggler worms are the most popular choice for worm composting: they are extremely efficient waste-eaters!

MATERIALS

• Well-ventilated wooden or plastic box (1 square foot for every 2 lbs of worms)

• Green scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts)

• Minimum 1 lb Red Wiggler worms 

HOW-TO

• Purchase or build a well-ventilated worm box

• Purchase or source a minimum of 1 lb of Red Wiggler worms

• Collect browns & lay them down as base layer

• Collect “greens” & add them to brown layer

• Add browns & greens regularly (1:2)

• Ensure that your worms’ home is sufficiently moist and is properly aerated

• Drain “worm tea” as needed 

PROS

• Small-space friendly (including indoors)

• Low-maintenance system

• Tidy materials

• Winter composting possible

• Creates compost tea as well as worm casings

CONS

• Requires regular moisture

• Attracts pests, including fruit flies

• Danger of poisoning or overfeeding your worms (ex: only a small amount of meat, or none at all)

• Drainage & some maintenance/care required

• Not ideal for people or children with tactile sensitivities 

COST

$20 - $200 

DURATION

 3 months - 4 months

7. Chicken Coop Compost

Just hear us out: chickens are some of the cheapest & cheeriest pets to care for, not to mention some of the most efficient waste diverters. Chickens are natural “scratchers”; turning compost is pretty much in their DNA!

If your home is or could be set up for a chicken run and coop, and you’re interested in sharing your home with some clucky little ladies, then you’d be in the perfect position to feed the majority of your food scraps to your new pets.

MATERIALS

• Chicken Coop

• Fencing/enclosure

• Water supply

• Heat supply (for winter months)

• Additional food supply (chicken feed)

• Food scraps

• Carbon-based bedding (straw, cardboard, wood shavings) 

HOW-TO

• Install coop & enclosure

• Purchase chickens & “accessories”

• Put down carbon-rich bedding, with an added layer in one corner of the coop

• Add kitchen scraps to the extra bedding layer

• Intersperse a daily load of kitchen scraps with a few scoops of carbon-bedding 

PROS

• Chickens like to scratch - no turning required!

• Reduces amount of feed purchased for chickens

• Improves quality of eggs

• Hot and cold compost option

• Chickens consume bugs/pests (even some rodents!)

CONS

• Must have local permissions to have farm animals/chickens

• Generate ammonia-dense feces

• Regular clean-up and care required

• Requires winterized enclosure

• Additional food supply

• Potential vet bills

• Cannot add most meats, dairy or processed foods

• Requires ample yard/outdoor space 

COST

 $5 - $10 (per chick), $ 10 - 25 (per chicken) ; $ 200 - 1000 (coop) ; $ 35 per bag (chicken feed) 

DURATION

 3 months - 4 months

*(dependent on the number of chickens & regularity of scrap collection)

8. Black Soldier Fly Composting

Black Soldier Flies (BSL) are naturally industrious insects whose larvae feed on decaying food. These little guys are naturally occuring in areas with a good amount of decaying material, and on farmyards with a chicken coop (chickens love to eat the larvae!).

MATERIALS

• Enclosure/container

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts)

• Food scraps (1 part) 

HOW-TO

• Install enclosure/container

• Collect browns & lay them down as base layer

• Collect “greens” & add them to brown layer

• Add browns & greens regularly (1:2)

• Ensure heap remains moist (like a damp sponge)

• Wait for BSL to begin harvesting your waste

*Optional (if you would rather not wait for a BSL colony to move in): you can also purchase Black Soldier Fly larvae by the pound from certain gardening or farm supply stores 

PROS

• Speeds composting process up

• Larvae & flies are harmless to humans & pets

• Naturally-occuring, especially near farmyards

• Attracts birds

• No turning required

• Can serve as additional source of chicken feed (protein)

CONS

• Outdoors only

• Meat and dairy will attract other pests, and risk pathogens

• Unappealing

• Noisy (flies buzz as loudly as bees)

• Winter-composting is difficult

• Not as easily purchased as Red Wigglers 

COST

 Free - $20 

DURATION

 1 larvae consumes twice its own body weight in one day

*(dependent on number of larvae & amount of waste)

9. Green Cone Composter

This nifty innovation is one of the cleverer designs for speeding up waste decomposition. Shaped like a giant green pilon, the Green Cone helps to circulate air to your food scraps and allows the existing bacteria and worms in your garden soil to break down your organics.

MATERIALS

• Green Cone composter

• Food scraps 

HOW-TO

• Install your Green Cone compost system on a flat, open-soil surface with excellent drainage

• Add food scraps daily to the removable basket daily/as needed

• Ensure that the scraps are not overflowing from the Green Cone installation site at any point 

PROS

• Handles an average of 2 liters a day of food waste (even in winter)

• No pests

• No odors

• No turning

• Emptying required only ever 5 years or so

• No maintenance

• Can take meat, bones, dairy & some animal excrement

• Does not require carbon (brown) materials

CONS

• Outdoors only

• Slows down/becomes near impossible during winter months without accelerant additive

• Requires specific site conditions

• No compost to harvest, in situ only

• Not portable

• Requires additives 

COST

$135 (not including additives)

*available for government subsidy in certain municipalities 

DURATION

 5 years (ongoing)

10. Sheet Mulch  

Similar to trench composting, sheet mulch is excellent for the permaculture gardener with a clear plan of where and how they would like to utilize their yard space for gardening. In theory, sheet mulching is like an inverted trench compost system.  

Many gardeners choose sheet mulching because it mimics the natural process of soil creation through layering of both carbon and nitrogen-rich materials.

MATERIALS

• Food scraps (1 part)

• Dry carbon materials (2 parts)

• Rake

*Optional: soil amendments, existing compost, selected seedlings

HOW-TO

• Select location for your sheet-mulch garden bed

• Lay down dry carbon bedding

PROS

• Very little digging or tilling

• No turning

• Mimics natural process

• Drought resistant, holds water

• Smothers weeds

• All-season composting

• Can harvest sections easily/as needed

CONS

• Requires levels of carbon (brown) materials

• Requires yard space

• Unnattractive

• Not portable - in situ only

• Attracts slugs & other pests

• Cannot compost meat or dairy products, green only

• Requires more green materials than you might have at one time (& manure)

COST

Free

DURATION

 Ongoing - permanent fixture

11. Bokashi Bucket

A bokashi bucket system is an ancient form of food waste diversion, developed in Japan. While not technically compost, it does reduce the volume of your food waste by up to 90% and can be held in a very small space - even indoors!

MATERIALS

• Bin with drain

• Inoculated bran

• Outdoor area for burying bokashi scraps to “cure”

• Shovel 

HOW-TO

• Purchase bokashi bin, or create your own (with spigot and lid)

• Add “greens”, including meat and dairy

• Sprinkle a thin layer of bran over food scraps

• Repeat layering until bin is full

• Once bin is full, remove to a secondary location (cool and out of direct sunlight)

• Every day or every second day, drain off liquid from spigot (can be used in diluted forms as spray-on fertilizer)

• After 10 days, bury pickled food waste remains a minimum of ½ foot deep, cover and pack down with shovel 

PROS

• No turning

• Small-space friendly

• Creates concentrated natural fertilizer/slug-killer

CONS

• Not technically compost (anaerobic/fermentation process)

• Requires additional curing period underground

• Requires regular additives

• Must dig up cured compost to harvest 

COST

RM90 - RM400 + RM15 bi-yearly (for additives) 

DURATION

 4 weeks approximately (2 weeks in the bin, 2 weeks in the ground)

12. Food Recyclers

The most modern version of traditional composting, food recyclers have revolutionized an age-old process into something which can go from plate to garden in in a single day (or less).

MATERIALS

• Food recycler unit

• A working outlet

HOW-TO

• Add food scraps to unit

• Turn unit on

PROS

• No turning

• Zero odors

• Zero pests

• Nutrient-dense organic fertilizer

• Does meat, dairy, some bones & processed food

• Quiet

• Small-space friendly

• Breaks down food waste by 90%

• Zero methane emissions

• Zero maintenance

• Zero-very few additives

• Portable

• Takes up to to 6 liters of food waste a day

• By-product is completely sterile and pathogen-free (kills weed seeds)

• Completes cycle in 3-24 hours (depending on model)

CONS

• Consumes small amount of energy (0.8 kWh per cycle)

• Cost can vary from mid-range to very expensive

• Requires filters every 3-4 months

• Not technically compost until added to soil for curing period

COST

RM1,669 +  RM110± 3-4 times yearly (for filters)

DURATION

3 hours - 24 hours