Composting: Where Waste Transforms into Plant Food

Many of us take for granted how much actual food scraps and organic waste we throw away each day. Studies have shown that the municipal solid waste in Malaysia is divided into a whopping 45% of food waste, with the remainder comprising materials such as plastic (24%), paper (7%), iron (6%), and other materials (3%).

Banana peel is a good candidate for composting  Image via morgueFile

These potentially compostable materials ranging from vegetable scraps, fruit peel, leftover food, used tea bags and even discarded leaves and twigs from the garden often end up along with the rest of our waste: at the landfill.

Mountains of rubbish and no place to put them  Image via morgueFile

In some countries, biodegradable waste from the table and garden will be collected by the weekly rubbish collector. However, for those of us who are not so fortunate, another alternative to dealing with these wastes must be found.

For easy sorting of organic wastes from the kitchen, Ikea offers this convenient bin that can be mounted on the inside of your cabinet door. After, the collected food wastes can be conveniently taken outside for composting.

This could be yours for RM 39.90  Image via Ikea

The easiest way to compost is simply to pile a mixture of fresh grass, dried grass and food waste into a heap in one corner of your garden. To avoid an eyesore, do choose a spot which is away from the main walkways.

It may not look pretty, but the worms love it  Image via Greenscapes

For those keen to speed up the decomposition, you can use vermicomposting (worms) to accellerate the breaking down process. Local company Hijau Kembali offers the "Can O Worm" composting bin to house your own worm kampung.

  

Cool grey bins containing worms to much away at your food scraps  Image via Hijau Kembali

Even if you don't own a garden, you can purchase the KitCoBin, a portable composting bin suitable for use in apartments and indoor kitchens. Offered by MG Ecotech, they were featured on The Star. Each unit only costs RM159.90 and is inclusive of a 1 kg pack of Bio Booster, which helps to cultivate beneficial microorganisms as the food decomposes.

Convienient size for composting, minus the smell. Even fits under the sink!  Image via MG Ecotech

Alternatively, you could build your own compost bin very easily, using a big plastic bin with holes drilled into it for drainage. More details of creating your own DIY Compost Bin  can be found on The Edge Malaysia, The Happy Housewife and Zero Waste SG.

Just grab one of these and start poking holes in them  Image via morgueFile

Finally, if you have a bigger budget to spend, and you want to go for some Serious Composting Machines, you could try the very aptly named NatureMill.  A combination of heat, mixing, and oxygen which is accellerated by the NatureMill helps the microorganisms  break down the food within days - before odors develop.

 

Bye-bye waste. These Composting Machines mean business... OM-NOM-NOM  Image via Weimar Biotech