apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

My landlord is giving us kitchen pails to compost per San Francisco new law. I've never composted before. Won't it smell? I can't use plastic bags so will I have to wash out the gross pail? Or is there an alternative? I never thought I'd be composting in a downtown apartment.

I've looked into 'kitchen composting' a few times, as I am interested in composting but much like you, live downtown and don't have a suitable outdoor space to use. I would recommend you look up (possibly on amazon) kitchen composters, there are a variety of types available that claim to not smell. There are some pretty fancy ones that get a bit pricey (~$500), but I've also seen some for around $40

What's this law all about?

Here in Boulder, CO the city composts. I too thought it was going to be really gross and smelly but it's not (unless you throw that already rotten bunch of broccoli from you fridge in there)! I only have to take it out every few days and I have a family of 5. You can buy BioBags (they sell them at King Sooper) to line your compost pail so no need to wash out the pail, you just throw food and bag in to the composter.

I have three large compost bins in my back yard, and keep two small ones (with snug lids!) under my kitchen sink. Once every 3 or 4 days I take the kitchen ones outside and empty them into the larger containers. Composting is such an easy thing to do, and well worth the miniscule effort involved when planting time rolls around. :)

I use a tupperware container in the kitchen and simply store it in my fridge, pulling it out and setting it in the sink when I'm prepping/cooking. The fridge keeps it from smelling and keeps fruit flies at bay. When it fills up, I go dump it in the big bin in my backyard.
The big bin doesn't smell as long as I remember to layer the food scraps with something like newspaper or raked up leaves.

I store my food scraps in the freezer until I take it to a friend's compost heap. Works great.

We live in SF too and we've been composting for about three years. We have about 10% real trash every week, the rest compost or recycling. You'll find that if you use the small green bins provided by the city for compost, you'll end up taking the compost down nightly or every couple of days. The smell is rarely bad unless you're tossing fish or smelly cheese.

Does anyone know the correct ratio of "green" composting material to "brown" - am I right in remembering it to be 3:4?

who else is blogging their progress? i haven't posted my 'before' pics yet but i started taking notes over here:
http://spontaneousgeneration.typepad.com/superhappyrainbowhouse/

and gathering inspiration pics here:
http://www.imgspark.com/image/listing/doubledutch

i would love to follow others' progress!

Bio Bin makes great countertop composting bins that use these biodegradable bags and allow for plenty of airflow, so the compost material dries out before it can smell. They really work! I keep mine on the counter and have forgotten to empty it for two weeks once without even a whiff of garbage coming out of it.
http://www.greendaily.com/photos/countertop-composting-containers/1304766/

for Salon in SF:
I'm also in SF and we compost into a small green bin that lives under the sink.
These can be lined with a biodegradable 'plastic' bag which are bought at any grocery store if you are concerned about making it really easy on yourself.
We just put food directly in the bin, but we do dump ours into a paper bag and then roll it up to place it in the big outside bin. These keeps down the smell. We do have to rinse the little one out.
The other thing to make it easier is to place some paper (like used paper towel or napkin) in the bottom of the bin. This way the food slides out easily when it's time to put out.
We rinse it with vinegar if it is stinky, but it really hasn't been an issue.

doubledutch, I cannot communicate how awesome it is that you included the Tenenbaum's house in your inspiration. I adore that house. I almost painted my living room coral.

To answer your question, I'm blogging at http://www.noaccountingfortaste.com/?cat=13

Now, where's my javelina?

I'm trying to switch to environmentally friendly cleaners, but I have a lot of partial bottles of non-green stuff still in the house. It seems a waste (and a hazard) to just throw them away or dump them down the drain. Any thoughts?

Call a local Salvation Army or shelter (women's shelter, animal shelter, homeless shelter, etc...) and ask if they would be interested. Our local Salvation Army thrift shop actually sells partially used bottles of cleaners and hygiene products, but they may be able to use them at the shelter itself.

I've used a lot of zero-VOC wall paints, but does anyone know of an environmentally responsible paint that's suitable for floors?

I dropped all my old cleaners at the city's recycling and household hazardous waste center. Told them they could use them or dispose of them properly, whichever. They laughed and thanked me.