Other ways to compost at home

Composting without a garden

If you want to compost your food waste but don't have much space, you could try a wormery or Bokashi bin.

A wormery is a container housing a colony of special worms. Wormeries can digest all uncooked food waste, small amounts of cooked food waste (but no meat, fish or bones) and small amounts of garden waste. They are self-contained, can be used where space is limited and require no access to the soil. You can purchase wormeries online or make your own wormery with a plastic container.

A Bokashi bin is an in-house bin in which all food waste can be added (including meat, fish, and small bones). A sprinkling of Bokashi bran is placed on top of the waste once placed into the container which helps break down the food waste and neutralizes any smells.

Both options will produce a limited quantity of compost and a liquid, which could be used as a drain cleaner or concentrated plant food for indoor house plants. The compost could also be used for indoor houseplants, passed onto friends and family or, if you do have one, added to a compost bin or heap.

Food digesters and other types of home composters

Food digesters are a bit different to normal composting, in that you can include all food waste but you don't get any compost out of it. 

The Green Cone is a similar structure to a standard home composting bin, however part of the bin is placed below ground level. Rather than producing any compost, the Green Cone breaks down food waste and then drains its residue into the surrounding soil. 

As well as food waste digesters there are also a number of different types of home compost bin available.

The Green Johanna is a composter which can compost all types of food waste and green garden waste as it reaches much higher temperatures.

Find out more about the Green Cone and Green Johanna compost bin.

Tumbling compost systems are also available too.

Fran Clifton, Head Gardener at Harold Hillier Gardens, talks us through the different options available: