„Composting in home composters”

By project CORE

Published on 17 July 2024

Poland

Świętokrzyskie

About this good practice

Home composting is a form of bio-waste processing in rural areas of świętokrzyskie. Compost obtained in home composters is used by residents for their own need in agricultural crops and gardening. Taking into account agricultural character and fact that bio-waste constitutes a significant group of municipal waste, its processing plays important role in meeting requirements set by EU, i.e. in achieving municipal waste recycling levels. But only following are suitable for composting: kitchen waste (vegetables, fruit, egg shells, coffee, tea grounds), garden waste (grass, leaves, twigs, weeds without seeds, flowers), paper and cardboard (unprinted paper, cardboard, paper towels, tissues), wood and wood ash. However, you should not compost: meat and fish (they attract pests, cause odor), oils (hinder decomposition, attract animals, cause odor) or pet feces - contain pathogens. It is important to properly conduct composting process (layers, watering, moisture, aeration).Commune council may, in its regulations, specify requirements for composting bio-waste constituting municipal waste in home composters on premises of real estate with single-family residential buildings and exempt owners of such waste.Challenge is to properly compost bio-waste in home composters by residents.Bio-waste from rural areas is also processed in professional composting and fermentation installations.Bio-waste that cannot be processed in composting process should be processed in fermentation installation.

Expert opinion

Across the European Union, somewhere between 118 and 138 million tons of bio-waste are generated every year, of which currently only about 40% is effectively recycled into high-quality compost and digestate. National, regional and local governments are required to provide separate collection or recycling of biowaste at the source under the revised Waste Framework Directive. As up to 50% of municipal solid waste is organic, the bio-waste fraction plays an important role in the transition to circular economy and contributes significantly to meeting the overall recycling target of 65% by 2035. Composting is presently the dominant form of bio-waste recycling in the EU. Supporting home composting, as shown in this good practice can lead to many environmental benefits demonstrated in the evidence of success.

Magda Michaliková

Works at Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Resources needed

In order to set up your own home composter, it is necessary to organize a suitable place to locate it and to purchase or make a composter yourself from items that are no longer needed and can be given a second life. Cost of purchasing a composter is about EUR 30-150, depending on its type and size.

Evidence of success

-develop treatment of bio-waste "at source"
-achieving bigger recycling levels
-good quality compost, used for subsistence crops and gardening
-transport limitation/CO2 limitation/noise reduct.
-reducing energy consumption by regional waste plants
-reducing of waste sent to landfill
-nr of residential properties with homecomposters and amount of biowaste in home composters is increasing:59,600 ths tons of bio-waste was managed in 155,341 home composters in 2021, 64 in 162 893 home comp.in2022

Potential for learning or transfer

Production of compost in home composters, used by residents for their own needs, is a good solution for the processing of bio-waste in the swietokrzyskie region, which can be example for other EU regions. Collecting bio-waste at household and managing it in a home composter makes use of its raw material potential and saves natural resources, in line with the trend of circular economy, or even circular bioeconomy. Composting "at source" provides, in addition to its own all-organic natural compost, a reduction in pollution to the environment caused, i.a. things, by transporting waste to processing sites, including a reduction in CO2 emissions and energy consumption associated with processing at waste treatment facilities. It is therefore undoubtedly a good practice that is worth implementing in other EU regions, especially since it is a practice that can be implemented in almost every household in rural areas and requires neither large financial outlays nor special skills and efforts.