How to Start Composting at Home in Bristol

Why composting at home matters in Bristol

 

When food waste leaves our homes, it usually leaves the city too.

 

By composting locally, Bristol households can:

• reduce food waste sent to landfill or anaerobic digestion

• keep nutrients in local soils

• support healthier gardens, allotments, and growing spaces

• take part in a circular food system at a human scale

 

Composting at home is one of the simplest ways to reconnect kitchens with soil.

 

 

Step 1: Choose the right composting method for your home

 

The best composting system is the one you’ll actually use.

 

 

If you live in a flat or don’t have outdoor space

 

Bokashi composting is usually the easiest option.

 

Bokashi:

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• works indoors

• accepts all food waste, including cooked food and small bones

• doesn’t smell when used correctly

• stores food waste safely until it can be composted

 

👉 Learn more about bokashi composting at home

👉 See how we make living compost from bokashi-treated food waste

 

 

If you have a garden

 

You may be able to compost outdoors using:

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• a compost bin

• a compost heap

• or a combination of bokashi and outdoor composting

 

Outdoor composting works best when:

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• food waste is balanced with carbon materials (woodchip, cardboard)

• moisture and airflow are managed

• you’re not adding too much food waste at once

 

Many Bristol gardeners still use bokashi first to reduce pests and smells.

 

 

If you don’t want to manage compost yourself

 

You can compost at home without processing it yourself.

 

Through community composting, food waste is collected locally and composted properly before being returned to soil across the city.

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👉 Join the Bristol Living Compost Project

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Step 2: Understand what can be composted

 

Different systems accept different materials.

 

Bokashi composting accepts:

• fruit and vegetable scraps

• cooked food

• bread and grains

• meat and fish (small amounts)

• dairy

 

Traditional composting works best with:

• fruit and vegetable scraps

• garden waste

• cardboard and paper

• wood-based materials

 

Understanding this upfront avoids frustration later.

 

 

Step 3: Keep it simple

 

Good composting habits are simple:

 

• collect food waste little and often

• don’t overfill systems

• follow basic guidance

• accept that composting is a biological process, not a machine

 

Smell, pests, and mess usually come from systems being pushed too hard or used in ways they weren’t designed for.

 

 

Step 4: Decide what happens to your compost

 

Compost can be:

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• used in gardens and allotments

• shared with neighbours

• returned to community growing projects

• fed into wider composting systems

 

In Bristol, compost doesn’t need to stop at your back door.

 

👉 Learn how compost feeds Bristol’s food forest market garden

👉 Explore buying living compost in Bristol (small-scale, community-made)

 

 

A community approach to composting at home

 

Composting works best when it’s shared.

 

Through community composting, individual households don’t need to solve everything themselves. Food waste becomes part of a wider system that supports soil, food growing, and local resilience.

 

That’s the approach behind Generation Soil.

 

 

Get support with composting at home in Bristol

 

If you’re new to composting or want guidance:

 

• join a local composting project

• attend a workshop

• learn through practical, hands-on support

 

👉 Join the Bristol Living Compost Project

👉 Explore workshops and composting education

👉 Read our composting and soil blog

 

 

Closing statement

 

Generation Soil supports composting at home in Bristol through community composting, education, and soil regeneration, not through individual perfection or one-size-fits-all solutions.