Hot Composting Indoors

As anyone who has made the mistake of overfeeding their worm box can attest to, you can hot compost indoors. Depending on the volume an indoor compost pile can reach temperatures of at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s pretty easy to do. First you put some holes in the bottom and around the top of a box. The box does not have to be huge, but should have at least several cubic feet of space. Styrofoam shipping coolers work really well. You can also use plastic or wooden containers, provided the wood isn’t treated with anything toxic. It’s a good idea to screen off the holes, especially at the bottom to keep material from falling out. If you are concerned about fruit flies, you can cut up a pair of old pantyhose and use the nylon strips to cover your holes in addition to a mesh screen. Set the box on four blocks to raise it a couple inches off the ground for ventilation.

Once your box is built, layer the bottom with two to three inches of shredded paper. Staple-free coarsely shredded paper works fine, and you want to avoid using glossy paper. You can also use other carbonacious material such as dried leaves, dried grass clippings, sawdust, peat moss, and other materials.

Next, collect enough kitchen scraps to form a layer on top of the paper layer of about the same size. When you have enough material collected, spread it over the paper, and cover completely with shredded paper. Try to avoid having the scraps contact the wall directly—have paper between the wall and the scraps. If you want, you can throw in a handful of dirt with the kitchen scraps but that is not strictly necessary. You are now ready to add your second layer of kitchen scraps. Keep adding layers of scraps followed by layers of dry shredded paper until the box is full. It will accept a surprising amount. Once the box is full, you will need to give it time to age. Start a new box at this point.

Hot composting indoors can work well, and it’s exciting to see a meat thermometer consistently register 110-130 degrees. It does have some disadvantages, though. One is that shredded paper doesn’t completely cover up all odors. This may improve by using a different cover material such as sawdust or peat moss, and by keeping the scraps away from the box walls. The other problem is that molds and little insects proliferate, which can cause allergies and other issues. For this reason, hot composting may be better suited for a well-ventilated garage than say, your kitchen.

Since your compost pile is indoors, it won’t have access to all the beneficial organisms normally present in a healthy outdoor pile. For this reason you may find you have to turn it more, and you might need to inoculate it with various compost critters along the way.

You can be successful hot composting indoors as long as you’re ready to experiment and figure out the best way to suit your situation.

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