Do you need to read this page?

Ask yourself if your internal monologue says the tl;dr for composting is:

• throw organics in a pile to decompose
• cover with dirt to avoid pests
• put organics-turned-dirt somewhere that dirt belongs (a garden?)

If it is, you do not need to read this page. If it isn't, you really need to read this page, at a minimum. And probably more material elsewhere.

General

At nilenso, we compost. We have done this for a long time. It's pretty easy and it saves the vast majority of our waste material from being collected by the BBMP and dumped or burnt on the side of the road, which is Bangalore's preferred waste management strategy. In the future, it may be the case that composting becomes difficult: sometimes there will be maggots; if someone has composted incorrectly, there may be a smell; there might be more compost than we know what to do with. DO NOT GIVE UP. If something is wrong with the compost, set it all aside until it composts completely then get rid of all of it and start over. You can always reboot. It should never be an option to start giving organic waste to the BBMP; when the system is broken, endeavour not to become an accomplice. Think hard about your actions and their end results: until the BBMP rectifies its own system, giving organic waste to the BBMP should be considered no better than dumping it on the side of the road yourself. Consider this behaviour criminal, even if only inside your own head.

'''Actual Crimes:''' As of December 2015, it is ''illegal'' to give unsegregated waste to the BBMP. If you are giving a garbage bag to the BBMP at home, you are a criminal. Don't do that. While you are at nilenso, encourage other people to do better than 3-way waste segregation. Composting, collecting e-waste, and handing over recyclable dry waste to kabadiwallas are ways to go beyond the bare legal minimum.

Aerobic Composting

Hardware

Aerobic composting can be done in the kambha sold by DailyDump. It's possible to make your own ugly-ass composter out of a bucket but we don't need to be that ghetto and it really doesn't hurt anyone to support a local business that's actually trying to clean up this city. The kambhas are attractive and earthenware so they themselves are biodegradable (when the time comes). Buy them.

DailyDump also sells a "leave-it pot" which is larger and can be used to store unfinished compost for an extended period of time. Our current leave-it pot is actually disintegrating thanks to our attempts to put bokashi waste in it. We should buy a new one (or two). They come in 3 sizes; we should buy the largest.

Alternatively, DailyDump sells a large plastic apartment-scale composter ("Aaga"). This might actually be the most sensible option for an office.

We should also have some accessories:

• Remix powder can be purchased from DailyDump. It is pre-made cocopeat with added microbes.
• Having some extra microbes doesn't hurt. They are a white powder sold by DailyDump and speed up the decomposition process.
• Haldi, neem, and chilli powder can all help ward off pests.
• White vinegar (not apple vinegar) can be sprayed on the outside of the pot to keep ants away.
• Pots can be placed inside a wider plastic tub to prevent maggots from crawling onto the terrace and into the office.