Vent: My compost bin turned into a smelly science experiment overnight

I threw in some avocado pits and coffee grounds last Tuesday, then a heatwave hit and the whole thing turned into a bubbling mess that attracted raccoons for 3 days straight. Any tips for keeping a home compost bin from becoming a biohazard without spending $50 on a fancy tumbler?

2 comments

2 Comments

brooke5284d ago

The balanced mix thing is a real science, and heat makes it worse. Avocado pits are actually heavy in carbon, but they break down so slowly that they sit there getting mushy and attracting pests while they wait. Coffee grounds are nitrogen-rich and heat up fast, so in a hot spell it's like throwing gasoline on a fire. You really want a rough ratio of 2 or 3 parts brown stuff to 1 part green stuff, not just a handful of paper strips. That means dry leaves, shredded cardboard, even old newspaper works better than brown paper bags since they're lighter and mix in easier. Also, burying any food scraps at least 6 inches down helps keep the smell in and the raccoons out, so the brick on the lid is a good backup but not the main fix.

patricia_singh814d ago

Brown paper bags are the cheapest fix for this. Tear them into strips and toss them in every time you add food scraps, it soaks up all that extra moisture and keeps things from going slimy. Also, you might want to bury the avocado pits deeper, they take forever to break down and tend to sit on top getting nasty. I've had the raccoon issue too, a couple of rocks or a brick on the lid usually does the trick unless they're super determined. The heatwave really messes with the balance, so maybe skip adding anything for a few days and just stir it daily to let it dry out a bit.