Compost Your Food Waste
There are many ways to help look after our precious local environment, avoiding single use plastics, recycling right, reducing food waste, another step you could take is to consider is setting up your very own home compost system.
You’ve probably heard of the term “composting” before, the truly great thing about composting is that it doesn’t require you to make any major lifestyle changes! You already dispose of food scraps, coffee grounds and tea bags — all composting asks of you is to collect this material in another container/bin at home.
Composting is the practice of disposing organic waste into oxygen-rich conditions that allow it to break down naturally. This process creates humus (not the chickpea kind!), an organic substance rich with nutrients that can be reused to benefit your garden.
There are so many benefits to setting up your very own compost system at home, whether you have a backyard or not food and green waste can be put to great use in improving your garden (or pot plant's) health.
Read the tips below to get started. ABC's Gardening Australia Website also has multiple downloadable resources and online video guides.
Information used with permission from © Brisbane City Council 2016.
Compost is a soil-like material, made from decomposing plant and food waste, rich in nutrients that are commonly used to fertilise and improve gardens.
Home composting can lead to improved structure, nutrient and water retention (through the dry seasons as well as better drainage through the wet) as well as happier healthy plants in your garden. Once correctly in place compost systems are capable of maintaining themselves.
If you live in a unit and don't have a backyard don't worry, you still have many options to composting, including a range of inexpensive indoor systems that can make liquid fertilisers for your pot plants, or perhaps you could join a nearby community garden? View the getting started tab below to learn more.
| Type | Ingredients |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen products (greens) |
|
| Carbon products (browns) |
|
Do not add the following ingredients to compost:
- Dairy products
- Manure from carnivores (e.g. cats and dogs)
Meat scraps - Plants that are diseased or have been sprayed with pesticides
- Plastic
- Treated timber
- Vegetable fats and oils
With many composting options available the most suitable option depends on:
- The size of your garden
- the amount of food scraps and garden waste your household produces, and how much time and money you want to spend.
| Compost Method | Ingredients | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compost Heap | Garden Waste Only | Pile lawn clippings and prunings in a heap, alternating carbon and nitrogen-rich materials (see table above). To speed up breakdown of compost, turn regularly. |
| Compost Bin | Garden waste and food scraps | Aerobic (oxygen required) composting system that requires regular turning of the compost bin. Works well for people with a backyard. |
| Compost Tumbler | Garden waste and food scraps | Aerobic (oxygen required) composting system that requires regular turning of the compost bin. |
| Worm Farms | Garden waste and food scraps | Suitable for small spaces (e.g. balcony or garage). |
| Bokashi or fermentation systems | Food scraps (including meat, dairy, and starchy foods) |
|
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Compost smells | Not enough carbon-rich material | Add carbon materials and mix through well |
| Not enough air |
| |
| Slow to break down | Not enough nitrogen-rich ingredients | Add food scraps or fresh grass clippings and mix through well |
| Not enough air | Turn more regularly | |
| Compost too dry | Add more water until the compost is damp all the way through. | |
| Maggots or cockroaches (Both maggots and cockroaches are beneficial to the breakdown process, so if you can tolerate them, they will help your materials to break down faster.) | Ingredients such as meat or fats added to bin |
|
| Mice and rats | Bread or grains in compost |
|
| Compost is too dry | Add more water until the heap is damp all the way through |
Learn more about composting, gardening and make some new friends (or meet the neighbours) at your nearest community garden. View Council's Produce Garden's Page to learn more.
Last Updated: 9 August 2022
Latest News > All News
Wave hello, the Cairns Lagoon is now open!
After a scheduled, biennial 5-week closure, the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon has reopened for everyone to enjoy....
18 August 2026
What's happening in your suburb?
From recreation hubs to coastal protection, projects are underway across the Cairns region....
17 August 2026
AFCM takes the stage in Cairns
Taking the stage in Cairns-Gimuy for the very first time, the renowned Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) has certainly...
13 August 2026