KOCHI: Waste, waste everywhere! It happens, doesn’t it? On a day when you decide to go big for all three meals; when you forget to leave the garbage out in time for the corporation workers; when it’s extra windy and the maanga maram has a mind of its own. Now, with you running a full house since the lockdown, when boredom’s only cure seems to be some waste-generating exercise, and waste management just isn’t at the top of the civic body’s priority list, it happens all the more, doesn’t it? Well, what better time to get down and fix it for good yourself? Never again will you have this much time and nearly so much motivation to begin your own home compost and, as they say, make compost while the waste accumulates!Turns out, sticking to a simple routine and staying true to a small list of dos and don’ts will see you through the project. Ashwin Kumar — personal trainer by day and compost guru pretty much every waking hour — is only happy to break it down for you. 

• Infected/diseased leaves from the garden
• Bones and meat 
• Dairy products
• Coconut shells
• Weeds
• Pet waste (dog and cat poop)
• Food with masala (rinse it with water before you add it)
• Oil and fat
• Too much citrus/acidic materials (if you need to add citrus,layer it sparingly)

Brown waste

• Corn cobs and stalks
• Feathers, newspapers but not glossy magazines*
• Toilet and kitchen roll tubes
• Tissues, paper towelling and napkins, providing they are not contaminated with meat, fats, oils 
• or disease
• Natural fibre string, Shredded plain paper
• Young wood garden prunings
• Dry leaves, small twigs and most hedge cuttings, Hay and straw
• Sawdust
• Dryer lint
• Corrugated cardboard (without any waxy/slick paper coatings)*
• Cardboard boxes*

Green waste

• Vegetable peelings
• Salad waste
• Fruit waste
• Used tea bags/leaves
• Used coffee grounds and filter paper
• Dead flowers and house plants (when dry, it becomes brown waste)

The Big Box
The kambha — a stack of three terracotta pots — is the ideal candidate. It allows for adequate aeration of the waste collecting inside. If not, you can use just about any large bucket or can (or paint box or large drum). Pick one for use and have another on standby. Once you choose the container, drill holes into the bottom and sides to allow air circulation. Keep the container in a place where it’ll not be affected by sunlight or rain; place a plate under it to collect the liquid that’s produced during the decaying process. 

Working with waste
The next step is to add the waste. For the purposes of composting, waste is classified as green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich). Your kitchen waste would make it to the green pile, while dry waste would be grouped under brown. The idea is to have a good mix of the two in the bin; Ashwin suggests a 60%:40% green-brown ratio. You can start by layering the bottom of the container with brown waste, adding in green waste for a couple of days, and then following it up with another layer of brown, and repeat.

Moisture control
For the decomposition to go on as intended, the contents of the bin should remain the right level of moist — too much moisture would turn it into a sludge and give rise to bad odour; too little and the waste would go dry, stopping the action of the microbes. The green-brown waste ratio should automatically keep the moisture under control. If you notice the waste go dry, sprinkle some water and turn the contents. If you see it turn slushy, add more brown waste and mix it up.

Turn it up
Besides moisture, the key component of your compost bin is air. If the compost pile is left undisturbed, inner layers do not get the air they need and begin to smell bad due to the anaerobic decomposition. Every three-four days, use a rake to turn the pile from top to bottom. This would also allow you to gauge the moisture level in the mixture.

Starter matters
Decomposition will begin automatically. Yet, if you want to speed things up, you can kickstart the process with a starter. Add just a handful of soil from the garden to the pile; this will supply the microbes needed for the process. Some let buttermilk go sour for three-four days and add a fistful of it to the bin.

Patience makes manure
Depending on the size of your container, you should be able to stack up the waste for at least 25 days. Once the bin is full, close it and set it aside (away from sunlight or rain). Check on it for moisture and aeration from time to time. Meanwhile, begin collecting waste in the second container. By the time you fill that, the first bin would be ready to harvest. When it’s time, put the contents of the mature bin through a sieve (or use a basket with holes or a mesh fitted into a frame or drill holes into a suitable plate or bowl). You’d then have loose, black and crumbly dirt rich in nutrients. Use it in your garden or give it away to the nearest nursery. Before you can do any of that, make sure you take your time to feel its richness. For Ashwin assures that all it takes is the first batch of manure for any compost newbie to get invested for life. 

Pointers for the process

• Break down the waste to small pieces to speed up its decomposition.
• Expect maggots (larvae of black soldier flies) and fruit flies to crop up in the bin; it’s only natural. Maggots are harmless and only help to fasten the decomposition process.
• Keep the bin closed.
• Use gloves to handle the compost bins; once the waste has matured and is turning into nutrient-rich dirt, you can use your hands (if you prefer). 
• The waste that is left behind in the sieve after the harvest — the ones that take time to decompose or were added in the later days — can be the waste you use to restart the bin.