HOME COMPOSTING OPTIONS Almitra H Patel Member, Supreme Court Committee for Solid Waste Management in Class 1 Cities in India almitrapatel@rediffmail.com www.almitrapatel.com

YOU CAN SOLVE YOUR CITY’s WASTE PROBLEM ! Just compost your own kitchen waste daily instead of sending it out to polluting dumps in nearby villages. Help yourself too, with the joy of a kitchen garden or flowerbed in home-made compost.

VILLAGE PIT COMPOSTING If there is enough garden area, dig a pit (thippe) and add a little waste into it daily in max 2” deep layers every day. Adding 5% fresh cowdung solution in water helps. Add pet animal droppings also to speed up composting and enrich it. Or add ready-to-use composting biocultures, which reduce smell. Cover the pit with stone slabs with a small covered opening for adding daily waste in small quantities.

COVERED PIT COMPOSTING One pit of size 1m x 1m x 2m deep can last one family of 4 for one year.

ONE – TREE TRENCH COMPOSTING In small plots with only one coconut tree or other tree or bush, dig a shallow trench around it. Pile the day’s kitchen waste till ground level in one spot in the trench and cover it with excavated soil. Place next day’s waste next to it and cover. Return to first spot after about 10 days or more. Water LIGHTLY ! Cover the freshest buried waste with a piece of weldmesh to keep out dogs or cats.

TREE TRENCH COMPOSTING A 1’ wide 1’ deep trench of 6 ft dia is ~20 ft long. 1 day’s waste will occupy Less than 2 ft of trench length. You can dig up the same spot as early as 10 days later.

COMPOUND WALL COMPOSTING IN GROUP HOUSING Grow a narrow strip of plants or hedge all along the compound wall. Dig a short shallow narrow trench between hedge and wall. Fill up a portion of trench with day’s waste of one or many apartments & heap soil over it Fill up second day’s waste just beside the first and cover with soil. Water the hedge or plants, not the trench. Leave undisturbed. It may take weeks or months before you need to return to the same spot in the trench.

COMPOUND WALL COMPOSTING A 60 ft x 80 ft plot will have 2780 feet length of wall excluding gate. A trench 1 ft deep x 1 ft wide needs 40 ft of length for 20 families. You can return to same spot in trench after two months. Hedge gets automatic fertiliser at no cost.

HIGH-RISE TERRACE COMPOSTING See www.credaicleancity.in In Kochi, high-rise buildings, use biobins on the terraces of each block for zero-waste apartments. Each pair of biobins can compost 40 kg of plastics-free kitchen waste (from about 40 families) within a month. The existing staff can spend 30 minutes a day moving waste from one end to the other for aeration. Use sieved compost in hsg society garden.

TERRACE COMPOSTING in BIO-BINS 40 apts need two bio-bins Area reqd about 12 ft x 15 ft One-time cost Rs 1,500 per apt + roofing, incl tools & 6 month supply of bio-culture + compost starter.

GROUP COMPOSTING IN SLUMS Use a perforated plastic drum with small holes in bottom and sides and a rainproof lid. Raise it on blocks 1 ft off the ground to allow air circulation. 5-6 families can share 1 drum by adding their day’s kitchen waste in a thin layer max 2” deep. Air can reach the surface layer & no stirring is necessary. Compost is ready in 6-8 weeks to share & fill plastic pots (hanging or on ground) to grow daily needs of kothmir, methi etc.

SHARED-BARREL COMPOSTING One 100-litre barrel can permanently serve 5 low-income families. When emptying drum, leave it at least 1/3rd full with old compost to absorb leachate & act as starter for added fresh waste.

HOME VERMICULTURE IN POTS Vermiculture in 1-meter dia cement rings or very large flowerpots is also an option. Persons familiar with rearing earthworms should manage this. Ask Dr Radha Kale at Mt Carmel’s for advice.

COMPOSTING FALLEN LEAVES BURNIING IS BANNED ! Make a heap of leaves on ground. Sprinkle with old compost or a 5% solution of fresh cowdung in water. Turn twice a month for 2 months before use. Can make higher and concealed heap inside a 6 ft circle of weldmesh.