Composting for Beginners

Composting for Beginners

In this beginner’s guide to composting, we’ll break down the benefits of composting, what you can compost, and tips to compost at home so you can turn your food waste into nutrient-rich fertiliser.

Composting is the natural recycling of organic waste. While it’s a seemingly simple concept, the world of composting can be full of confusion. This guide to composting for beginners will boost your knowledge, confidence and skills in all things composting.

Let’s dive into the basics of composting:

Be a Composting Champion

Learn how to compost at home and at your business, recognise compostable logos, sort your waste, and urge your council to take action.

What is Composting?

Like nature’s version of recycling, composting is the breaking down of organic matter (which is anything that was recently living). This includes leaves, food scraps and even compostable packaging. Once organic matter is broken down by living organisms, like fungi and bacteria, it turns into a nutrient-rich fertiliser to improve the health of your soil and plants.

Looking inside a compostable bin liner. The bag is filled with organic waste, like lettuce leaves, compostable coffee cups, plates and cutlery.

Why Should You Compost?

There are so many reasons to compost – for people, soil, plants and the planet at large.

Composting can:

Divert Waste From Landfill

Sending less waste to landfill has both economic and environmental benefits. Imagine if we all saw our waste as a resource! Composting our food and organic leftovers will help recover a resource that would have been wasted in landfill and turn it into a beneficial fertiliser.

Reduce Emissions

Organic waste in landfill generates methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 28 to 36 times more potent than CO2. By composting food waste and other organics, methane emissions are significantly reduced.

an icon of a pile of nutrient-rich compost
Create a Natural Fertiliser

Because composting turns waste into nutrient-rich fertiliser, we can reduce or even eliminate the need for chemical fertilisers.

Improve Soil and Agriculture

Composting adds valuable nutrients to the soil improving its health, which in turn promotes higher yields of agricultural crops.

Healthy Plants

It’s simple – healthy soil can create healthy plants.

Conserve Water

Healthy soils rich in organic matter can retain more water. This can ultimately help conserve water in the irrigation process.

Prevent Soil Erosion

Moist, nutrient-rich soil can hold more water making it less susceptible to erosion.

Tree
Reforestation and Restorations

Compost can help aid reforestation, wetlands restoration and habitat revitalisation efforts by improving contaminated, compacted and poor quality soils.

Recycling Versus Composting


For starters, composting is a form of recycling – organics recycling! The difference? Composting is for organic matter only, and other recycling is for paper, glass and plastics.

Both recycling and composting are great ways to turn waste into something valuable and they both contribute to a zero waste circular economy.

The process you use will depend on the material you’re disposing of and the facilities available in your local area. Check for compostable certifications or recyclable logos on each specific product.

Two bins, one with a green lid with the compostable logo and one with a yellow lid with the recyclable logo
Two hands holding up aqueous plastic-free BioCups. They’re black cups with white lids and white writing. The image zooms in on the compostable label, reading ABAP20177.

Biodegradable Versus Compostable

People often use the terms ‘biodegradable’ and ‘compostable’ interchangeably – although they’re not the same thing.

Every material will biodegrade if you give it enough time (for example, it takes around 500 years for fossil fuel plastic to break down). That’s why the term biodegradable can’t be verified and is often misunderstoodor considered greenwashing.

Compostable, on the other hand, is when a product can be organically recycled in specific conditions. A certified compostable product will rapidly break down in a composting environment – whether that’s a commercial composting facility or your backyard compost. Always look for the certified compostable logo as well as the company’s specific license number.

Different Types of Composting – Home vs Commercial 

Home Composting

This refers to what’s in your backyard. You can throw things like food scraps, grass clippings and leaves into your home compost and they’ll break down over several months, sometimes years. 

Different home composting methods include:

An icon of a green backyard compost

Backyard composting – the most common method using a traditional compost bin or container in your backyard.

Vermicomposting – also known as a worm farm, this method uses worms to break down organic matter and produce valuable worm excrete castings.

An icon of a Bokashi Compost, using anaerobic fermentation

Bokashi composting – this uses anaerobic fermentation to break down organic matter. Food waste is sealed and fermented with a special mix of bacteria and yeast.

An icon of a ‘Subpod’ - an in-ground composting bin.

Sheet composting – also known as lasagne gardening, organic materials are layered on top of each other without needing to dig into the soil.

Commercial Composting

Commercial composting, also called industrial composting, is a controlled setting with specific temperatures and inputs (like water, air, carbon and nitrogen-rich materials). Given it’s a controlled environment, commercial compost will rapidly break down a wide range of organic materials.

Two different commercial composting methods include:

An icon of Aerated Static Pile (ASP) composting. It appears like piles of compost.

Windrow composting – the formation of long, narrow rows of organic waste. This method relies on natural sources like sun and wind to break down organic matter.

An icon of in-vessel compost. It represents a vessel with compost inside.

In-vessel composting – the processing of organic waste in enclosed containers or vessels with control over the temperature, moisture and environment.

Understanding Composting Certifications

Greenwashing is everywhere in the sustainable packaging industry. That’s why it helps if you, the consumer, can clearly recognise certified compostable logos and take a stand against greenwashing.

Any product can claim they’re compostable, but the only source of truth is The Certified Compostable Logo – a registered trademark owned by the Australasian Bioplastic Association (ABA). This logo proves a product is certified home or industrially compostable to Australian standards.

Check for these logos along with the company’s specific licence number.

Industrially Compostable
AS4736 & EN13432
Image of the home compostable logo – illustrating the certification type (Home Compostable AS5810) and the spot where the company’s specific license number should go.
Home Compostable
AS5810
Home Compostable
NF T51-800

Composting For Beginners – Getting Started 

Starting a home compost is easier than you may think.

But first, you should choose a method that suits you best – whether it’s outdoor backyard composting, a worm farm or indoor bokashi composting. Here are some questions to help you choose the right method.

How much organic waste do you produce?

Everyone is different. A big family with lots of food waste may have different composting requirements to a single homeowner. If you have a small amount of kitchen waste, you might opt for bokashi composting because it requires minimal space. If you have a big family, you might opt for a large backyard compost bin.

How much space do you have? 

If you live in an apartment with minimal space, you might choose the space-saving bokashi method. Alternatively, if you have a large backyard with enough space, an aerobic composting bin will allow for a lot of kitchen and yard waste.

How much time can you spend composting?

Time commitment can vary between composting methods. A worm farm (vermicompost) is a great choice if you’re busy, as worms do a lot of the work for you! Backyard composting can allow for a lot of food waste, but it can be more involved as you often need to layer it, keep it moist and turn your compost.

Composting Basics – What Goes in a Composting Bin?

What Can You Compost?

  • Fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Leaves
  • Grass trimmings
  • Eggshells
  • Tea bags
  • Hair 
  • Coffee grounds
  • Paper
  • Wood chips
  • Cardboard
  • Certified compostable packaging (check with your local council)

What Can’t You Compost?

  • Fossil-based plastic
  • String
  • Aluminium foil
  • Polystyrene 
  • Wax paper and cardboard
  • Animal and meat products*

*Animal and meat products can be composted, but it’s not always recommended as it may attract pests.

Composting In Australia

Looking beyond your home compost bin? 

Right now, 53 councils in Australia accept compostable packaging in their residential compost collections.

Check whether your council composts – and more importantly – what they accept in your compost bin.

A person placing compostable packaging in a compost bin. The packaging is a PLA BioCup, a plant fibre produce tray, and FSC certified wooden cutlery.

Want To Spark Change In Your Local Council? 

If your local council isn’t offering a residential compost collection, you can start by writing a letter directly to your local MP. You can also sign the petition to encourage your council to start composting.