My old compost bin smelled like a swamp until I switched to adding shredded junk mail.

I used to just toss in food scraps, but after my whole kitchen smelled bad for a week, I started mixing in a handful of shredded paper with each layer, and now it's odor-free and breaks down faster, so what other free 'brown' materials do you guys use in your apartments?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_lopez1d ago

Honestly, my first compost attempt smelled so bad I think my neighbors were planning an intervention. I mean, it was just a bucket of regret. I've had good luck with torn up cardboard egg cartons and the paper tubes from toilet paper, though. Anything dry and papery that I was gonna toss anyway gets a second life.

julia_hayes1d ago

Bucket of regret" is the perfect way to put it. My first one was a biohazard. I save all my brown paper bags from the grocery store now, just tear them into strips. Dry leaves from my houseplants when I trim them work too. I even use the dust from my vacuum cleaner bag, the stuff that's just dirt and hair. You get creative in an apartment.