Compost Chronicle

Compost Chronicle

Are you still giving one garbage bin with loads of mixed waste to the garbage collectors?

I was also doing so until a few years ago.

But I don’t do it anymore.

I keep my green waste in my house itself for months!

People give me a strange look & ask me

“It must smelling bad and you must be having insects all over your house!”

“Not at all….! “ I say with a smile

I turn it in a bagful of Black Gold, and use it in my tiny garden or give it away to my friends!

Old habits die hard

Until just a few years back I used to line up my bins with plastic. Each day plastic bag was taken away and a new one was put for the next day. One day, while returning home from the city I noticed the BBMP garbage workers opening up large black garbage bags and segregating the huge pile of trash just near our apartment. The whole thing looked very ugly and the stench was even worse.  This got me into thinking about my own solid waste management practices.

Although waste segregation has now become compulsory, even educated people still give mixed garbage. In my apartment we started promoting the usage of “2 bins and a bag” about 3 years back. It is very tough to inculcate segregation of waste and even harder to convince people to do it themselves. This blog is about my journey from food scraps to black gold mine.

I had known about composting pit and vermiculture on farms. I had also seen solutions for composting in an apartment. But for an urban busy woman like me who is on perpetual cleaning spree this was an impossible option. I used to throw out any unwanted dry or wet kitchen waste at the earliest opportunity. 

January 2016

After a lot of canvassing from my eco-friendly friend Shilpi and after viewing a number of websites I finally decided to order an EcoBin online for around ₹1400.  I got two white bins with sieves and taps at the bottom and 2 kg microbes. Though some friends gave me strange look because I spent so much on just two kachra dabbas, I was determined to do this experiment. Shilpi uses a khamba (aerobic composting) but when I surfed on the net, people had recommended Bokashi method.

Bokashi…The Japanese name did a trick and I was convinced that this is for a newbie like me.

EcoBin

Sieve inside the EcoBin

Food scraps being added.

Failed experiment and new discoveries

January to March 2016

I followed the instructions given by EcoBin. Up to the pickle phase (first three weeks) everything was fine. I was removing the leachate regularly.  As per the instructions, I did layering in an older dustbin using dry soil. Since there was no ventilation in the bin and there was no way of draining the excess water and the decay was extremely slow. Also, the transfer of pickle from EcoBin to the dustbin was a nightmare. The balcony would smell terrible! I felt that kids playing downstairs could smell it. In my next attempt, I drilled some holes in the dustbin with an electric drill. This helped a bit in reducing foul smell however, the pickle was still too watery and there was no sign of compost even after 6 weeks. Also, the breakdown of pieces was rather slow.

Another problem was of maggots. My EcoBin would get completely filled up with white maggots and the moment I would open the bin to add food scraps they would crawl out of the bin. I tried adding Neem powder, shikakai powder etc. Nothing helped! The maggots and foul smell sill persisted. There were times I felt that I should just clean up everything and junk all the bins.

Three important points that I understood from these failed trials were as follows:

• ·   For the layering phase plastic bin was not suitable. Something more airy was necessary.
• ·   Using soil for layering made it very sticky and smelly.
• ·   I was adding large stems of vegetables and corn directly into the pile. It was not decomposing   properly.

EcoBin - Khamba Combo and the magic of Remix

April - May 2016

Adding microbes

I had to now look for an earthenware or wicker basket. It is necessary to cut the food scraps into smaller pieces to save space and to aid faster decomposition. I started chopping the scraps with a knife but it was time consuming.

Layering scraps with coocopeat

One day, after the ritual of transferring pickle to another holed bin I was fed up and I decided to visit the DailyDump shop which was recommended by Shilpi. I purchased two stackable units of a khamba. Although, one can directly go on adding food scraps in a khamba,
I decided to use a combination of EcoBin and a khamba because, EcoBin allows faster fermentation and the leachate can be removed. Another, important ingredient that was missing in my earlier experiments was the cocopeat i.e. remix powder.

I kept one sharp pair of scissors near my temporary bin of food scraps to cut all the stems and stocks into smaller pieces. Later on, I developed my own steps of anaerobic and  aerobic composting.

Now, I collect my daily waste in EcoBin and layer it with remix powder. Occasionally, I sprinkle some Neem powder and 2-3 spoons of microbes to keep the pile healthy. I pour the leachate into my kitchen drain to keep it clean. The remix powder absorbs excess moisture and curbs maggot formation. Now my EcoBin fills up in about 2 weeks’ time and I leave it undisturbed for about 3 weeks. The pile has moisture but it does not have excess water. Also, the smell is tolerable. In fact, it is somewhat like wet earth and does not bother people around. I can easily transfer it to the Khamba pot. I use large sieve to sift the compost in the khamba and store it in large plastic bag. The final product has very little “compost” smell.

The harvest of black gold is takes about a month after transfer to the Khamba. The total time of turnover is around 2 to 3 months.

Zen and the art of composting

June - September 2016

When I started composting, I just wanted to manage my wet waste in an eco-friendly way. As I started composting I went through a scientific analysis of the process. Every day, I learn Biology, Chemistry and Physics of the ecosystem in the pots. This is an excellent laboratory for designing new experiments.

An important observation: Red chilli which is put in oil while seasoning does not break down at all even after months in compost pile. The microbes do not eat it! Microbes eat healthy and I take it as a lesson to cut on the consumption of red chilli.

As I watch the transformation from scraps to the black gold and when I sift the final harvest I go through a meditative phase. The smell of black earth which is rich with nutrients and microbial activity is full of life. Sometimes, a small seed of tomato or peanut gives rise to a sprout. I take it out and transfer into a pot. It is a pleasure to watch it grow each day! When I see a bud on the rose bush, my heart fills up with an inexplicable joy!

As I transfer the smelly pickle from EcoBin to the earthen pot, I learn to empathize with the garbage collectors and can feel their pain. I breathe mindfully and transfer the contents. I feel better because of the fact I am reducing the burden on garbage collectors by a minuscule amount. My husband Vinay helps me in chopping the scraps into fine pieces. Each day I spend only about 5 minutes in sorting my pile. Once a month, i spend 45 minutes in sorting out things. I reduce wastage and focus on appropriate usage of groceries that I buy. I am learning to cook appropriate amount of food because cooked food should not be put into compost. I strive for a zero garbage lifestyle. When I see wilting scraps, I am able to see the transient nature of life. Composting has become my laboratory of Zen practice!

For a quick video click here:

Refrences:

EcoBin

Daily Dump
facebook group: Waste Segregation, Recycling and composting