Winters in the Northeast are cold and snowy.  This year was extreme in both regards, even by our standards.  This kind of weather does not lend itself that well to compost pile access.  Ours was under snow for about two months and frozen solid for even longer.  We built a worm bin in order to keep the soil growing process going.  The problem we ran into was that we were creating more food waste than the worms could handle.  The solution was simple: build a kitchen composter that could hold the food in one place until the worms were ready for it.

Enter the Inexpensive Under The Sink Kitchen Composter!

Kitchen Composter Material List

You should have most of this list kicking around the house.  The only thing you’ll probably need to buy is the odor catching AC filter.

• Lockable Plastic Container (I used a Lock & Lock container we had laying around)
• Black Spray Paint
• No Odor AC Filter
• Glue Gun (w/glue)

Kitchen Composter Assembly Instructions

1. Paint the bottom of the container black.  I’d recommend a few coats to make sure no light can get in.
2. While you’re waiting for the container paint to dry, drill a few holes in the top.  This step will allow air to flow through.  I recommend a 1/4″ diameter drill bit.
3. Cut the No odor AC filter to fit inside the cover.
4. Place some hot glue around the edges and and the drilled holes and press the AC filter in place.  Allow to cure.

You’re ready to go with your very own under the sink kitchen composter once everything is dry .

Here’s a short video in case you want to see what I’m talking about:

[youtube_sc url=”V12SEKPlbp8″ width=”586″]

Tips & Recommendations

We’ve been using this kitchen composter around the Suburban Steader homestead for a few weeks now and I have to say that it’s awesome.  We would previously throw our food waste in a bowl on the countertop and then have to bring it to the worm bin or compost pile almost immediately.  In the worst cases, we’d just shove it into the garbage disposal and lose all that great soil building material.

Now we can collect our food scraps over time and let it begin the decomposition stage without worry that flies or smell are going to infest our kitchen.

One suggestion I would highly recommend is lining the kitchen composter with fresh newspaper every time you use it.  As you can imagine, when food begins to decompose, it can stick to the sides of the walls making it difficult to extract later on.  The newspaper will allow you to give the bottom of the kitchen composter one or two swift hits and have everything come flying out.  The newspaper is compostable so adding it to your worm bin or compost pile is no big deal.

Another suggestion is to go with as big of a container as you can fit.  You’ll always have access to your compost pile in the warmer weather, so holding on to decomposing foods for a long time won’t be a problem.  However, when your compost pile is covered in snow, you’re going to be at the mercy of your worms and how fast they can eat and decompose your food scraps.  Having a bigger container allows you to hold more food between feedings and not overwhelm you worm bin.  And we all know the stink and mess an overwhelmed worm bin can cause.

How did your Under The Sink Kitchen Composter come out?  Be sure to share pictures on Facebook!