How to Start Composting Your Food Waste at Home

Every banana peel, coffee filter and wilted lettuce leaf you toss in the trash ends up somewhere — and more often than not, that somewhere is a landfill. But there is a simple, practical alternative that anyone with a small outdoor space can embrace: composting.

Whether you have never thought about composting before or you have been curious about it for years, getting started is more straightforward than you might think. Here is what you need to know about why composting matters, what you need and how to do it right.

Why Composting Matters

At its core, composting is a way to recycle the organic materials most of us routinely throw away. According to the EPA, “Composting is a form of organic recycling. Organics recycling is when facilities collect and process organic materials (that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated) into new products, such as soil amendments.”

That distinction is important. When food scraps and yard trimmings end up in landfills or combustion facilities, the nutrients and carbon they contain are essentially wasted. The EPA explains it this way: “When we send food and other organic materials to landfills or combustion facilities, we throw away the valuable nutrients and carbon contained in those mate...