I believe that you have confused a compost caddy with a compost bin. Your container is designed to collect material for taking to a compost pile rather than being a composter in its own right. Turning it will make no difference. It is too small and too airless and it will not make compost whatever you do with it. While you are away it will go smelly. I always empty and wash out mine before leaving home.

Yes, that container is only for collecting kitchen waste before transport to a real composting bin or tumbler type - it is not a composter on its own.

Thank you both for responding. Now a follow up question. I'm not trying to argue with you, but I've watched a ton of videos and read a bunch of articles leading up to this purchase for example https://youtu.be/-7IM5sWl9GY and

https://youtu.be/tdVU7HVFMrU

and they seem to be describing my set up. Is there a reason why this wouldn't work for me?

https://inthevintagekitchen.com/2017/05/26/compost-an-update-on-the-mini-bin-for-the-mini-balcony/ This as well. I guess what I'm asking is doesn't decomposition happen no matter what? Even in a small container?

I'm not saying you can't do this, and in fact I congratulate you on it. A few thoughts:

I would have bought a 5-gal bucket with lid at Home Despot for half the price, or get a freebie from restaurants that get products in buckets and toss them out.

There is indeed an air problem with any sealed plastic bucket. Air has to get in. Liquid has to drain out too, which stains concrete. It needs holes.

You have to add browns to food scraps to get a mix that will not cause odors.

So, if it had some holes, a tray for leachate, and layers of browns in between, you would get a little compost. Note that materials shrink about 5-10x during composting.

In your first link (the guy on the balcony) there is a message on the screen that it's best to have an actual compost bin due to the volume it can handle.

In the last link, the picture of 'compost' after 4 weeks is...not compost. That's half composted at best. Compost is compost when you can no longer see what went in. I guess they do say this in the text, but just keep it in mind. This is a pile of sticks, pine needles, eggshell chips, and what looks like half composted fruit and vegetable scraps. It needs more time. It also looks very wet.

The Indian ladies have it right. A container with holes, and they're adding leaves.

If you follow the link in your first post and click on 'compare with similar items' you will see an explanation of what this pot is for. You can even get biodegradable liners for it to carry the contents to the proper compost bin. Decomposition will happen in such a small container but it will not make compost. It will make a slimey, stinking, anaerobic mess. But if you don't believe those of us who have composted for many decades keep experimenting with your mini bin and see what happens.

toxcrusadr Thanks for your helpful response! :) The bin I got has an inner container with lots of holes at the bottom so that the water can drain out without leaking, kind of like a colander. I've also added lots of shredded paper and dried leaves along with kitchen scraps. And yes I agree that the last link isn't compost, I just included that as an example of what I meant by saying I thought it was possible to do it on a super small scale. I agree that what they have needs a lot more time. But anyway! I've been trying to keep a ratio similar to the video with the two ladies, do you think it'll be better if I keep the lid open for oxygen? Thanks again! :)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK I said specifically in my response that it is not my intention to argue with you. I was simply asking a question based on some sources I came across. I am not trying to undermine you or anyone else who has "composted for many decades." I am simply trying to reduce my waste and be as green as I can with the circumstances I am in right now, which of course is not ideal for a full-blown compost pile. So I appreciate you and anyone else who is nice enough to help me out in my mission.

Holes should be all over the container, not just at the bottom - drainage is not the issue here but oxygenation is. Oxygen is essential for the decomposition process, otherwise you will just have the smelly, anaerobic mess floral described.

There is also a mass or volume of materials that is necessary for efficient composting and that small, kitchen waste bin is missing that mark by a long shot. 3 cubic feet is just about ideal - you can do it with a smaller amount but it will take longer to get to a 'finished' stage.

You can compost in a small container, but not one that small. You may want to look into bokashi composting if you really need to use a small container, but I don't know if you can even do bokashi in something that small.

You can also try vermicomposting, but not in a bucket that small, which is designed for scraps collection, not compost processing. Vermicomposting can break down material effectively when you don't have enough volume for thermophilic or "hot" composting (generally, a mass of material at least 35 cubic feet).

Some people successfully vermicompost in 5 gallon buckets provided with air and drainage holes, but a bucket is not the most effective configuration for vermicomposting, as you really need something wider and shallower with more surface area. The population of worms you can support in a vermicomposting system is limited by the amount of surface area you can provide, so a 5 gallon bucket can only handle a small volume of household food scraps.

My compost operation has thousands of sitters. They patrol the area thoroughly, but they don't keep an eye on things, having no eyes.

Lloyd i'm glad you have that attitude because that's kind of what I was going for here! I mean of course it's not ideal, but without a lot of money or space available to devote to this, I'd like to think I'm doing *something* right by trying my hand at it! It's obviously not the best set up, but I think it's better than it all going in a landfill, right? This was meant to be a fun little experiment to see on a small scale and I was getting really discouraged for a little bit.

I think people focused too much on you calling it a "compost bin" and didn't see the larger picture. I also tend to consider (in my poor delusional mind) what's the worst that can happen. In your case, not much. Your container is not going to hurt anyone and if it does go a bit smelly, you will deal with it when you get back and know more for the next time. If I had a nickel for every time I screwed up with my composting I wouldn't be sitting here on Friday night talking about compost. (ya, I probably would).

Lloyd yeah I guess so. For the record, I'd like it to be known that I realize this won't yield the same results as a full-fledged, 35 cubic foot compost heap. But I'd also like it to be known that my kitchen waste is no longer ending up in a landfill, whether or not that means that I have to transport this container 3 hours to toss in my family's heap.

I'd like to really thank you and anyone else who offered helpful advice instead of just nitpicking at my imperfect attempt at creating nature's perfect balance :)

If there's anything worth reporting I'll try to remember to post an update here after I get back next semester.

and don't worry, you're clearly not the only one in a compost debate on the internet tonight haha :)

As far as oxygenation goes, maybe I can take out the "basket" inside and put it on a drainage dish?

"I'll try to remember to post an update here"

lol...at my age I will have forgotten who you are by then. Have a good vacation.

on the left in this pic is my compost bin..an open pile surrounded by logs..the bit of white is a bag of organic raised bed mix..bought too much..leaving it there until I need it..we have A LOT of debris..we chip it and pile it in the bin..along with food scraps and coffee filters..I don't turn it (too heavy)..don't water it..but we have beautiful compost..when I want some I take it from the bottom..I realize not everyone has space for this set-up..but it could be smaller..just my opinion but I think ground contact is the best way to compost organic matter..

nicholsworth55 believe me I would love to have an in-ground system. not really a possibility unfortunately when you live in a third-floor apartment! :) Maybe some day though...

loquattrees..I hope someday you'll have some ground of your own..with your own debris..and your own compost pile outside!

nicholsworth55 it's not every day you wish debris and rotting scraps to someone, and it's also not every day that i'd thank someone for that so sincerely :)

Funny!!..I'm thankful for all of the mess that is constantly falling in my yard haha..I love having a place to discard watermelon, cantaloupe scraps, banana peels etc..we put out the least amount of garbage on the street..I offered to take my neighbor's pumpkin when she complained about the mess the squirrels were making..so she scraped it up and brought it over!..should make a sign.."we accept garbage" lol

I seem to have touched a nerve, completely unintentionally, I assure you. Sorry. Maybe my wording was not good. I intended to simply warn you that although your set up is very likely to fail, because that is not what the pot is designed for, if you have no alternative you should carry on, cross your fingers and see what happens. Personally, with just two of us, we have such a kitchen caddy and fill it three or four times a week, so I'm wondering what you will do with your kitchen scraps while you wait for this pot to do something. It sounds to me as if vermicomposting or bokashi would suit your needs better than trying to make compost in a container which is too small and pretty airtight. But please do report back on how it turns out.

ps In my area there is food waste pick up. Do you have access to something like that?

<nicholsworth55
believe me I would love to have an in-ground system. not really a
possibility unfortunately when you live in a third-floor apartment! :) >

If it hasn't been suggested already perhaps a worm bin would be better for now.

I'm really starting to wonder whether the idea of 'too small for composting' has been tested out or is it just 'conventional wisdom'?

Obviously a bucket sized bin will not be able to heat up, but we talk about cold composting all the time.

If it had the microbes, air and moisture, why would it NOT make compost?

I've got half a mind to try a bucket compost bin just to find out.

Cold composting takes place outdoors in contact with the ground, allowing access to environmental bacteria, fungi and invertebrates and with ample aeration. It would take a lot of effort to create that environment in a gallon bucket indoors.

I've left my compost caddy unemptied and unattended by mistake while away for a couple of weeks and it's ended up as a stinking sludge. But if carefully controlled it would an interesting experiment. But it wouldn't deal with the quantities of waste produced in my kitchen..

A bag of celery in my fridge seems to have no problem decomposing. :-)

On the serious side...it's been done already.

http://compost.css.cornell.edu/soda.html

"perhaps a worm bin would be better for now."

I'd be concerned leaving a worm bin alone for a month. I'd be worrying about them the whole time I was on vacation.

Might be some variables in the worm bin but I have managed... of course you provide food before you leave. But IF you are honestly concerned you could either have a friend come by or bring it over to them either way you can get them interested. IF you are worming there is likely someone you know who also does.

Plan C stay home.

Plan D stop the worry = Compost Just Happens.

The difficulty with getting a small container of food scraps to "cold compost" is not lack of bacteria - those will be there regardless - but lack of sufficient oxygen in the system to support aerobic bacterial growth, which would otherwise drive a "cold composting" process.

As the food scraps decompose they continually release water. Even if you provide air holes and drainage holes and such in the container, a soggy mass of organic waste is not permeable to oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria do break down organic matter, but they are much, much slower to work than aerobic bacteria, and in the process they create noxious smelling gases - not something most people want to live with. In a worm bin, of course, those byproducts of anaerobic decomposition also kill or drive out the worms.

The reason a worm bin can work without becoming anaerobic is that you fill it with "bedding" materials which break down more slowly than the food scraps, absorb and distribute the excess water, and create a matrix that is permeable to oxygen, and you manage the bin to keep it in that 60% percent water saturation range. Worms are only the most visible inhabitants of the worm bin which also contains bacteria, protozoa, fungi, mites, and various other critters from time to time. (Mine has a slime mold which is named Fred.) It's not necessary for the material to ever be "in contact with the earth" for this population to appear; all those things find their way in as you add food scraps and possibly garden waste and other odds and ends.

If you assembled a similar system to this but didn't put in worms, other life forms would still be there - although the worms do a lot to influence the composition of the ecosystem, much more than just mechanically grinding the food. They have specific bacteria in their guts and others that live in their slime, and worm slime and worm poop shift the general bacterial population in specific ways - for instance, worm slime can disrupt bacterially generated biofilms, such that certain types of bacterial colonies will have a harder time establishing. You will all be fascinated to know that maggot slime does something similar. Yum, yum.

Anyhow, if you built a small bin like a worm bin, with the components of a worm bin system, but for some reason didn't want to use worms, you'd still get things decomposing - though it would certainly be slower and less efficient than the same thing with worms in it. You'd probably need to do more work to shred or break up the food scraps and manually mix around the contents of the bin, to prevent anaerobic clumps from forming - with a worm bin you don't have to "turn" the contents since the worms are doing that already. Some people do shred or blend scraps for the worm bin just to make everything go along faster, but it's not necessary - I don't.

"But IF you are honestly concerned ..."

I'm not, I don't do worms. It was an attempt at humour as I didn't think for a moment that anyone would believe that I would be worrying about worms whilst on vacation. I guess wormers take this stuff seriously. My bad.

New wormers worry about a lot of things. But a well-established worm bin can be left completely to its own devices for weeks or even months with no real ill effects. Overfeeding is much more likely to cause problems.

<"But IF you are honestly concerned ..."

I'm not, I don't do worms. It was an attempt at humour as I didn't
think for a moment that anyone would believe that I would be worrying
about worms whilst on vacation. I guess wormers take this stuff
seriously. My bad.>

My bad Lloyd. NO I didn't think you'd be worried which is why I said what I said. But as mentioned take a trip over to the worm forum if you wanna see worry. I think some do name their worms. <smile>

I think we should all talk about loqua while she's gone. I mean, is it obvious to everyone that she should be running a worm bin?

What if she's on her way to Maine? You could argue in person! LOL

tox, no one vacations in Maine in Nov! In fact, there's no one in Maine right now, but me. I'd leave, but 12 chickens have imprisoned me.