Getting Started with Backyard Composting: A Beginner's Guide for Western North Carolina
Backyard composting is one of the easiest ways to reduce household waste while creating a valuable resource for your garden. Whether you have a large backyard, a small garden, a townhouse patio, or just a little outdoor space, composting helps turn food scraps and yard debris into nutrient-rich compost that supports healthy soil and thriving plants.
Composting is a simple step that helps keep valuable organic materials out of the landfill and puts those nutrients back into the soil.
Why Composting Matters
When organic materials are buried in landfills, they break down without oxygen and produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Composting keeps these valuable materials in circulation, turning them into a nutrient-rich resource that improves soil health, supports local food production, and helps reduce waste.
According to the EPA, food waste makes up roughly 24% of municipal solid waste sent to landfills, making it the single largest category of landfilled material in the United States. By composting food scraps at home or at community composting sites, we can keep valuable nutrients in circulation, build healthier soils, reduce methane emissions, and move our communities toward a more resilient local food system.
In Western North Carolina, composting is an easy way for households to contribute to healthier gardens, stronger local food systems, and more resilient communities. Every banana peel, coffee ground, and fallen leaf that gets composted instead of landfilled helps build healthy soil right here at home.
What Is Composting?
Compost is created through the natural breakdown of organic materials such as fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, leaves, grass clippings, and other plant-based materials. With the right balance of air, moisture, carbon, and nitrogen, these materials decompose into a dark, crumbly soil amendment that improves soil health and water retention.
What You'll Need
Successful composting requires four basic ingredients:
Water
Oxygen
Nitrogen-rich materials ("greens")
Carbon-rich materials ("browns")
A good rule of thumb is to use about three parts browns for every one part greens by volume.
What Can Go Into a Backyard Compost Bin?
Greens:
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds and tea leaves
Grass clippings
Plant trimmings
Eggshells
Browns:
Dry leaves
Straw and hay
Shredded paper
Newspaper
Paper towels and napkins
Small twigs and wood chips
Avoid adding:
Meat, fish, and bones
Dairy products
Greasy or oily foods
Most cooked foods unless they are fruit/vegetable based
Plastic or Styrofoam
Pet waste
Diseased plants
Low-Cost Composting Options
You don't need expensive equipment to get started.
Many gardeners begin with:
A simple pile contained with wire fencing
A homemade pallet bin
A DIY wood-and-wire compost system
A purchased compost tumbler
At Bountiful Cities, we've had success using rodent-resistant wood-and-hardware-cloth compost bins built with help from community volunteers. Some gardeners also experiment with pallet-based systems as a lower-cost alternative.
Composting in Small Spaces
Think you need a large backyard to compost? Think again.
Many Western North Carolina residents successfully compost in small yards, townhomes, and even apartment communities. The key is choosing a system that fits your space and lifestyle.
Options include:
A compact compost tumbler for patios and small yards
A small enclosed compost bin
A worm composting system (vermicomposting) for covered outdoor spaces
Participating in a community compost site or food scrap drop-off program
Even a small compost system can divert hundreds of pounds of food scraps from the landfill each year while creating a valuable soil amendment for gardens, landscaping, and potted plants.
Your First Steps
Starting is easier than many people think:
Choose a convenient location.
Collect food scraps in a covered kitchen container.
Add greens and browns to your compost pile.
Cover fresh food scraps with browns.
Keep the pile moist like a wrung-out sponge.
Turn occasionally to introduce oxygen.
For a simple visual guide, download our Compost Quick Start Guide.
Compost Happens
You don't need a perfect recipe to make compost. Nature does most of the work. By adding materials consistently and maintaining a reasonable balance of greens and browns, you'll be creating rich compost for your garden in six to twelve months.
Whether you're growing vegetables, flowers, or native plants, composting is a simple way to build healthier soils, reduce waste, and support a more resilient local food system.
Ready to get started? Download our Compost Quick Start Guide and start composting at home today.
Want to learn more about composting in North Carolina? The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality offers a statewide composting guide and resources for residents interested in getting started. Visit NC DEQ Organics Recycling & Composting Resources.
