Sort your wastes to compost well

Every good compost harvest begins with a proper mix of wastes.

The two types of organic waste

How well your waste composts is mostly determined by two macronutrients: C (carbon) and N (nitrogen). All organic wastes will have these two nutrients in varying amounts, and we can sort them into two broad categories:

• C-rich such as twigs, shrub pruning and non-glossy paper
• N-rich such as grass clippings, green (unseeded) weeds and veggie scraps

A general feature is that most C-rich waste is dry and N-rich waste is wet (with high water content). This means you can gather and store C-rich materials. In contrast, N-rich wastes can quickly go slimy, ooze yucky fluid and stink if left in a pile without adequate aeration.

Use a suitable compost system

The best place to put your N-rich waste is a compost system which can keep the waste fully aerated.

Standard systems such as compost bins and tumblers require you to aerate the waste by manual mixing. How frequently you have to mix depends on the type of N-rich waste - very wet wastes like vegetable scraps have to be mixed more often than green weeds and grass clippings.

A better alternative is Bioverter. It is designed to keep kitchen waste such as vegetable scraps fully aerated, and as a result, saves you from having to mix your wastes.

Start with the right waste composite

The right composite is formed with a mix of C-rich and N-rich wastes that ensures C and N are used up at a similar rate, as problems emerge when you have too much of either type of waste. We call it a balanced waste composite for composting.

The rule-of-thumb for standard compost bins and tumblers is combining 2 lots of C-rich waste with one of N-rich waste. Having a store of C-rich materials nearby can help you balance every N-rich waste input.

Kitchen scraps are handled conveniently with the bespoke design of Bioverter. To learn more and get some handy tips for optimal composting, check out our How to Use page!