Composting is the natural decomposition of organic matter which creates nutrient rich soil. With the right ingredients it can be easy to do right at home for all of your daily food waste.

There are 2 main types of composting - Aerobic and Vermicomposting.

- Aerobic composting uses access to oxygen for the bacteria to be able to effectively decompose everything. This is composting method that our composter design uses.

- Vermicomposting uses earth worms to help break down all organic matter. While this can be an effective way to compost, there are additional challenges to ensure that the worms are able to survive.

The primary focus for your home composter will be your daily food waste. However, other organic waste - like house plants or yard trimmings - and paper based products can be included as well. The main downside to expanding your organic waste beyond just food waste is that this will take more space. If you anticipate doing this, you may want to consider an additional Large Composter finishing pot or 2 to allow sufficient decomposition time while you work through the tiered process of your main composter.

There are only 3 main ingredients you will need to supply!

- "Greens" - This is the main portion of your food waste which is all of your nitrogen rich organic waste (Vegetables, fruits, coffee, tea, etc.)

- "Browns" - These are essential and often the key ingredient missing when you find smelly compost. These are your carbon rich organic waste items. Our POWDR helps give the right ratio and consistency to help with a faster decomposition process, but you can also substitute dry leaves, twigs, saw dust, cardboard, etc. (Note: these alternatives take significantly longer to break down and can lead to a smellier composting process).

- Water - Moisture is key for the bacteria and decomposition process. This needs to be added in the correct amount though. If you have too much water, it will lead to a smellier composter.

- Air - Having good circulation throughout the compost is critical to ensure everything breaks down properly. The lack of oxygen in the decomposition process - like when food decomposes in landfills - leads to bad smells. The design of our composter allows good air circulation so this is not something you need to worry about!

Composting can smell if done incorrectly; however, with a ratio of  70% “greens” to 30% “browns” your compost will not smell. If you do start to smell something unpleasant, you may not be applying enough POWDR (Or Browns) into your pile when adding greens daily. Add 2-3 handfuls and mix well and then continue to add one more handful after adding in your daily food scraps each day. 

If you don’t cover your compost bowl and/ or don’t use the right ratio of “browns”, you’ll start to see bugs – mainly fruit flies – be attracted. Adding in more POWDR can help reduce any chance of unwanted visitorsh. Our composter design is also raised off the floor to help isolate the compost piles from the surrounding environment.

If you follow the process outlined, it should take 45 to 60 days to compost most food waste. Some items like bones, large avocado pits, mango seeds, corn husks and cores, will take longer than the normal duration. These items will need to go through your composter a few times to fully breakdown. After you sieve a final batch of compost you will find these items partially broken down. These can be added back to the top stage of the composter to continue to decompose.

If you follow the process shared in the How it Works page, your final sifted compost after 45-60 days should be ready to use in your garden. If you have any concerns, or want to confirm with the first batch to learn how long your compost will take, you can try the jar method. Put a small amount of your sieved compost into a glass jar and leave it for 2 days sealed. If it smells when you open it on the 2nd day, the compost is still not ready and requires some additional time for decomposing. Once you learn how long your compost will need based on how much food waste you put in and your environmental conditions, you should be able to follow that process without the jar checks each time.

Not necessarily, this is a common misconception. It is natural to think you should keep your smelly waste far from the house, but our design is intended for use indoors and outdoors. If kept outside, the composter setup needs to be covered to avoid overexposure to the sun, which can dry up the moisture, and avoid rain which can cause the compost to become to soggy which will lead to bad odors. 

You can store your composter in several different locations depending on where you live. If you live in a temperate to warm climate all year around, you can keep this inside your home or outside on your balcony or porch. If you live in colder climates, you’ll want to keep your composter inside – at least for the winter. Locations inside can include your basement, garage, laundry room, and kitchen. We recommend placing it in your kitchen only if you completely avoid using it for any bones or animal products. 

Your compost can be used on any plants, grass, or trees! If you have a garden or potted plants in your home, that is a perfect use for the compost you produce. For those without their own garden or plants, you can sprinkle your compost out in your yard or on any exposed bushes, plants, or trees around your apartment/condo.

Properly disposing of your waste into your composter will take less than 5 minutes a day! You can fill a small compost bin in your kitchen throughout the day with all of your food scraps. At the end of each day, take this to your composter, pour the contents into the top section, cover the new contents adequately with the POWDR, cover, and close. It’s that easy!

There are very few home composting products available in the market, and the ones available either require a large financial investment or don't provide the additional materials and learnings needed to ensure success. Our composter solution was designed to be ergonomic, attractive (Because composting can be beautiful), efficient (floor footprint and time), and effective. Our goal is to make everyone a composter and teach all our users composting can be easy and worthwhile. Home composting doesn’t need to be a DIY project for only those with more space in their backyards. We will set you up for success with the POWDR complimenting the composter and leave you finding compositing fun!

Yes! This solution brings us back to the natural way of doing things. It has all the same benefits of being simple to use, takes minimal space, and doesn’t smell. This is all achieved without using extra energy and further expenses. When your final compost is produced, you will feel rewarded and accomplished. You were a part of the process and did your part to help preserve this earth.