Different Types of Composting | 7 Most Valuable Methods!

The art of composting is about balance. With that and some other techniques, you can effortlessly become a pro in composting.

And if we talk about the pros, they are adept at what they do.

Every one of them knows the different types of composting that they can carry out. And that is why they know the best one among them!

There are two main composting types: aerobic and anaerobic.

In today’s article, we have formulated the most valuable and distinct composting methods related to these categories.

• There are also some commercially valuable methods just for you (if you are looking for some).
• I will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of all the different composting methods so that it would be easier for you to shuffle among the styles according to your needs.

With all that said, let’s get straight into the topic.

The Different Types of Composting & the Components Required

I know you are eager to look at the different types of composting so that you can choose the one that suits you.

But before getting into the main business, it is crucial to know the components required.

Here are the primary components required for proper composting:

• Air is a primary component of aerobic composting. Without proper aeration, one cannot carry out aerobic decomposition. Insufficient air causes anaerobic conditions to occur.
• Water is another valuable component as it is the only source of moisture.
• Vegetable matter keeps the compost organic.
• Worms are a natural source of nutrients for plants. They give us the worm castings (digested decomposed matter that’s easier to absorb). One form of composting (called vermicomposting) primarily uses worms.
• Brown and Green wastes are the Carbon and Nitrogen contents, respectively. These are the primary components that make compost.

Brown wastes are not essentially brown—the same goes for green ones:

Carbon-containing (brown wastes) include dried leaves, wood, bark, pine needles, fine chippings, sawdust, paper, hay, straw, etc.

Nitrogen-containing (green wastes) include vegetable and fruit scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, grass clippings, seaweed, animal manure, tea bags, etc.

And finally,

• Effective micro–organisms (EMOs) are non-pathogenic and unharmful bacteria that suppress foul odors and harmful micro-organisms. They also speed up the breakdown of organic matter.

That aside, let’s see the different types of composting.

There are two major types of composting; aerobic and anaerobic.

Aerobic Composting

If we define aerobic composting:

“It is the biological decomposition of organic matter or wastes in the presence of aerobic bacteria and the microbes that require oxygen.”

As the name suggests, the air is the most crucial element for aerobic composting as it breaks down all the materials quickly.

Yes! But how does air break down organic matter?

The bacteria that thrive in arid environments need oxygen to live. And if they survive, they are the ones quickly churning down the organic material.

• However, in the case of aerobic composting, you’ll need to turn the compost after every few days.
• A compost aerator would be your best friend in this case.
• Using our sniff and smell test, you want to start with a healthy ratio of brown and green matter – no chemistry knowledge is required! And after some time, once the composting process fires up, you can add more carbon content to maintain the right balance.
• Soil-borne bacteria help to speed up the process once they start decomposing the organic matter.

Please ensure you keep the mixture moist and turn it frequently (to keep it aerated). Otherwise, it can diffuse a rotten smell into the environment.

Also, the micro-organisms in the soil need a humid climate to survive. Oxygen from the environment circulates in the moisture and is used by the microbes.

Don’t compress the material because that will remove all the air spaces and would deny the purpose of aerobic composting. That’s why it is vital to use all the components in the correct size.

“It’s good if you add some ground or shredded material in your mixture as it provides the micro-organisms with an increased surface area. But, if you add a lot of it, it can cause compaction. That’s why you should keep all components 1 to 2 inches in size.”

Having everything in balance would also keep the temperature around 60°C. Lower temperatures will cause anaerobic conditions to occur.

Now, let’s see the different methods of aerobic composting.

1. Onsite Composting

Onsite composting is one of the most basic types of aerobic composting.

According to a survey, approximately 63 million tons of food waste was generated in the US in 2018. And this only represented 22 percent of the total biodegradable waste that was produced.

Small amounts of yard trimmings and food scraps can be composted onsite. It doesn’t involve making a gigantic pile of brown and green waste.

• You can use ingredients like fruits, vegetables, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, shredded newspaper or cardboard, yard trimmings, grass clippings, houseplants, leaves, hay, straw, hair, fur, and wood chips.
• You must not use dairy products, coal, fats or oils, meats, and pet wastes.
• It is a slow process and can take up to 2 years to finish making compost. However, you can speed up the process by manually turning the mixture.
• Try to maintain the proper aerobic composting conditions to keep your olfactory nerves safe.

You can use the final product in making the potting mixture for your potted plants or use it for raising beds. It’s all up to you.

Let’s see the pros and cons of onsite composting:

Advantages

• It is the most basic and easy method.
• Utilizes the amount of food that is otherwise wasted away.
• Provides fresh compost for your houseplants.

Disadvantages

• It is visible in your garden.
• It can take some of your space.
• It can emit a foul smell if the conditions are not right.
• It can attract pests.

Now, let’s head towards ASP composting.

2. Aerated Static Pile Composting

As the name reflects, aerated static pile composting (ASP) is a method of aerobic composting.

You won’t need to turn the pile manually in aerated pile composting. In fact, you are going to set up an automated system that would aerate the mixture while you can enjoy eating snacks.

It is also known as the Beltsville method.

Now, if we talk about the process. It involves either pushing the air through the compost pile or sucking it out of the mixture. ASP composting occurs at higher temperatures, and it accelerates the composting process.

The components usually include:

• A blower or a fan to aerate the mixture.
• Piping that takes the air systematically through the pile.
• A circulatory Plenum layer is typically a layer of wood chips to allow proper air diffusion.
• Above that is the Composting mixture, which contains brown and green matter.
• And finally, the whole pile is covered with an insulating layer—typically mulch or finished compost, which traps the heat and the odor inside the pile.

As far as the ingredients are concerned, the composting mixture should contain Carbon and Nitrogen content in a ratio of (>25:1) and moisture content of (50–55%).

Therefore, you would need to add more volatile solids (VS) to the mix.

Note: It is a fantastic option if you want to make compost for commercial purposes.

Advantages

• Involves much less physical effort.
• No foul smells.
• Carry out composting at much faster rates.

Disadvantages

• Requires professional monitoring to maintain proper conditions.
• It is expensive.

3. Aerated (Turned) Windrow Composting

Aerated windrow composting is among the different types of composting as well.

Aerated (turned) windrow composting is a method of aerobic composting performed on a large-scale basis.

In this method, a large amount of waste collected from societies, restaurants, cafeterias, or other food–producing businesses is laid out in large piles and turned in using heavy equipment.

The rows of these long piles of waste (up to 8 feet) are called “windrows” and are aerated using mechanical equipment.

• During the active phase,the wastes are laid out and heat treated until they reach a temperature up to 60°C.
• After that comes the curing phase,in which the composting mixture is turned for a period of 8–9 months.

“As it is a large-scale method, it can also be executed commercially. Typically, local government plays an essential role in recycling biodegradable waste on a bigger scale and selling the products to local residents at a low cost.”

On that note, let’s head toward the advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

• This process produces a greater yield, so the compost would be available for purchase at a low cost.
• It can also decompose pet wastes, greases, fats, and fish products that cannot be composted using any previous methods.
• It is one of the most efficient composting methods.
• It is extremely valuable as it can be implemented commercially.

Disadvantages

• It requires a vast area of land and extensive manual and mechanical labor.
• Large windrows produce a liquid by-product known as Leachate, contaminating ground-water and surface-water supplies.
• It can emit bad odors as it is exposed to diverse climates.

Now, let’s talk about In-vessel composting.

4. In-Vessel Composting

If we talk about the In-vessel method, it indeed joins the list of different types of composting. Also, it can be included in the list of commercial composting methods.

It is an easy, cost-friendly (if performed at a lower level), eco-friendly, and efficient way to recycle household waste.

In–vessel composting is used to recycle large quantities of waste without taking up much space as in the windrow method.

Sounds intriguing? Well, it’s all about fermentation.

You can use any type of biodegradable waste (animal manure, food scraps, biosolids) and dunk them into an electrical or mechanical container or a drum.

The containers vary in size. As the material is sheltered from the outside environment, it is effortless to control the inner conditions such as temperate, moisture, and aeration.

“Typically, it is of industrial importance where fine quality compost is produced on a commercial scale.”

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

Advantages

• Among the different types of composting, it is one of the most efficient methods.
• It produces more than 90% yield.
• Entirely automated process.
• It is a high-speed method and can finalize compost in a few weeks.
• Less maintenance cost.

Disadvantages

• Requires a large amount of investment.
• Not suitable to execute at home, but it is possible.

That was all about In-vessel composting.

5. Vermicomposting

If we talk about different types of composting, the name vermicomposting definitely comes to mind.

In this composting method, worms—typically red worms—are used to digest the organic matter and make compost, known as worm castings.

Worms feed on organic material consisting of brown and green waste, mainly food scraps, coffee grounds, paper, and yard trimmings.

Before feeding, the worms dwell in a natural habitat in a bin or a container containing moist garden soil and shredded paper or newspaper.

“Once you add the organic scrap to the container filled with worms, they’ll start digesting it. About 800–1000 worms can digest half a pound of the organic matter daily. You can take out finished castings after every few months.”

Worms also aerate the composting mixture through the gaseous exchange, and the churning process also aids ventilation.

Advantages

• It is a relatively easy method.
• It is not costly.
• You can carry it out on a small scale.
• You can make as much compost as you want.

Disadvantages

• Worm loss.
• The process can get smelly, but it mostly smells “earthly.”
• It requires harvesting once every week.

Now, let’s take a look at some other methods.

6. Tumbler Composting

In the case of tumbler composting, a bin is used to store and blend the components of the composting mixture.

Tumblers to compost come in various sizes and are available for purchase. Moreover, you can also make some DIY tumblers for indoor composting of food waste.

“Mostly, tumblers are in the form of containers or bins elevated from the ground and attached with a rotatory handle to mix up the contents inside.”

Typically, they are made up of insulating material so that the temperature and odors remain inside.

They are porous to keep proper aeration and are designed to easily turn the composting mixture.

Learn More: How to Start Composting – Easy Ways of Picking and Starting Your Home Composting

Different Types of Composting | 7 Most Valuable Methods!

Advantages

• They are easy to use, compact, clean, and tidy.
• Do not attract pests.
• Composting in tumblers can efficiently be executed indoors.

Disadvantages

• Are not automated—you’ll need to manually turn the compost.
• Cannot produce compost on a large scale.

That was all about aerobic methods of composting.

Now, let’s see the different types of composting but anaerobically.

Anaerobic Composting

We define anaerobic composting as:

“It is the biological decomposition of organic matter or wastes in the absence of oxygen and in the presence of anaerobic bacteria which do not require oxygen.”

In the case of anaerobic composting, the name suggests it would be the opposite of aerobic composting.

And yes, it is! Even though both processes end up making compost, anaerobic composting does not require air.

However, the compost produced through anaerobic decomposition would be acidic and should not be used right away. It is aerated for a month (spread on uncultivated land and left open) to neutralize the pH.

Note: The process of anaerobic decomposition is called “digestion,” and the containers carrying the composting material are known as “digesters.” It is because the pH of these reactions is pretty similar to that of the stomach—just slightly less acidic.

• While aerobic composting produces CO₂, O₂, and water, anaerobic digestion produces methane.
• On the one hand, most aerobic composting methods require manual or mechanical working and turning. While on the other hand, anaerobic composting methods do not require any kind of work.
• Anaerobic microorganisms or anaerobes do not need oxygen for growth. They dwell in the composting mixture deprived of oxygen and decompose it.
• These nasty bacteria, unlike the aerobes, emit an ugly rotten smell—mainly due to H₂S gas.
• Anaerobic composting is slower than aerobic methods of composting.
• Aerobic composting generates sufficient heat to kill any harmful pathogens or bacteria. While in anaerobic composting, the same killing is made by the acidic environment.

As far as the ingredients are concerned, there is no rule of thumb here. You can add any type of brown and green waste; even a small amount of meat would work fine.

Make sure you don’t add too much greasy, oily, or fatty products. That would be a transgression for any composting system.

And if you added some meat to the digester, make sure to keep it there for at least a year so that the acidic pH kills all the harmful microbes.

Wet and Nitrogen rich junk is primarily used in anaerobic composting.

Methods of Anaerobic Composting

The most popular methods of anaerobic composting include:

• Trench composting.
• Garbage bad composting.
• Anaerobic bokashi composting.
• Composting in digesters.

All of the above methods involve the same basics. The composting mixture is accumulated in an enclosed space where the air can’t reach it and is left to rot!

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

Advantages

• It doesn’t require much work.
• It makes value from waste and utilizes landfills to produce compost.
• It can also be done underground as it doesn’t require oxygen.
• It can be executed on any scale.

Disadvantages

• Plants and crops using the finalized product containing harmful pathogens and bacteria are prone to diseases.
• It smells awful.
• It is very time-consuming.
• The product requires further aerobic neutralization.
• Methane produced is harmful to the environment.

Commercial (Large-Scale) Composting

We have already discussed a couple of commercial or industrial composting methods.

Those were:

• Aerated static pile (ASP) composting.
• Aerated (turned) windrow composting.
• In-vessel composting.

Commercial composting is different from regular household composting.

Regarding the ingredients, industrial composting involves using effective micro–organisms (EMO composting) and wastes such as sawdust, pine bark, and sulfates of ferrous and ammonia.

The industries collect the degradable wastes from societies and food processing shops and restaurants and sell the finalized products to nurseries and farms.

Gigantic piles of waste products are composted using any of the above methods of aerobic or anaerobic composting or using a group of methods as in combined Compot Composting (open air compositing involving the use of EMOs and worms).

See Also: What is Commercial Composting?

Difference Between Hot and Cold Composting

You already know the difference.

• Hot composting is another name for aerobic composting because it occurs at high temperatures (around 60°C.)

Hot composting is fast, requires high maintenance, kills unwanted microbes, and has an earthly smell.

• On the other hand, cold composting is another term for anaerobic composting because it occurs at relatively lower levels of temperature (around 38°C.)

Cold composting is slow, requires low maintenance, doesn’t kill harmful microbes swiftly, and smells like rotten eggs.

Closing Thoughts

That would be all about the different types of composting and related methods of making compost. I hope this post was able to answer all your queries.

• I’ve elaborated on the two major types of composting—aerobic and anaerobic. All the methods of making compost act under either of these two circumstances.
• I’ve also listed the different advantages and disadvantages of every method. So, it would be easier for you to choose among them.