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Rant: My neighbor laughed at me for using a 5-gallon bucket as a compost bin | Apartment Composting - The Community Guide

the_angela•4mo ago

Rant: My neighbor laughed at me for using a 5-gallon bucket as a compost bin

I've been apartment composting for about 6 months now with a simple bucket setup. Punch some holes, add some bedding, toss in kitchen scraps. It works fine. But last week my downstairs neighbor saw me hauling it out to the balcony and just laughed. She said 'you know they sell actual bins at the hardware store for 25 bucks, right?' and told me I was being cheap. It got me thinking though. She's got a point about the smell. My bucket does get a bit funky sometimes, even with good layering. And the holes let little fruit flies escape. But I also don't have 25 bucks to spare right now. Has anyone else had someone question their setup and make you wonder if you're doing it wrong? How bad is a bucket really compared to a real compost bin?

2 comments

2 Comments

cooper.taylor4mo ago

Notice how we've gotten so used to buying our way out of every little problem that making do with what we have is seen as something to laugh at. Your bucket is fine. It might not be pretty but it does the job. The fruit flies and the smell are just part of composting no matter what you put the scraps in, those fancy bins get them too. I think there's a real pressure to have everything look perfect all the time, even stuff that sits on a balcony nobody sees. Your neighbor probably meant well but she was really just repeating what society tells us, that the store bought solution is always better. Keep using that bucket and don't let anyone make you feel bad about being resourceful.

abby_kim554mo ago

Right? The part about "making do" really hit me. My grandma had this old milk crate she used as a plant stand for like 30 years, chipped paint and all. My aunt kept offering her a nice ceramic one from the store and she just said, "It's not broke, why fix it?" The crate works just fine keeping the pots off the ground, same as anything else. People really do act like you're doing something wrong if you're not constantly upgrading.