The two objections are always the same: no space, and the smell. Both dissolve on contact with an actual working setup. Our entire system is two stacked pots on the service balcony, and the only smell — nose directly above the pot — is wet earth after rain.
Why bother
Roughly half of household waste by weight is wet kitchen waste. Composting it means the dustbin stops smelling, the garbage bag count halves, and the balcony plants get fed for free. It is one of the rare habits that is simultaneously lazy and virtuous.
Composting is one of the rare habits that is simultaneously lazy and virtuous.
Har Ghar Me
The two-pot method
- Pot one takes the daily peels, cores, tea leaves, and eggshells. Every deposit gets covered with a fistful of dry material — shredded newspaper, dry leaves, or cocopeat. Wet plus dry is the entire science.
- When pot one fills (four to six weeks for a family of four), it rests with a lid while pot two takes over the daily duty.
- By the time pot two fills, pot one has become dark, crumbly compost. Empty it into a sack, restart the cycle.
The rules that prevent every horror story
No cooked food, no dairy, no meat, no oily gravies — those are what smell and attract flies, and they belong in the municipal wet-waste bin instead. If the pot ever smells sour, it is too wet: stir in more dry material and leave the lid ajar for a day. That correction fixes ninety per cent of all composting problems.
Start with peels and tea leaves only, for one month, in one pot with holes drilled in the side. Once you see the first batch turn to earth, you will not need convincing about the second pot.
