Composting at home: turn your food waste into garden gold

WasteCure Team20 April 20245 min readTips

Food and garden waste make up a large share of household rubbish in Ghana. According to the World Bank's What a Waste 2.0 report, organic waste accounts for approximately 40-50% of municipal solid waste in low and middle-income countries. Unlike plastic, this waste does not need to go anywhere. With a simple compost setup, you can turn it into rich compost for your garden or pots.

What you need

You do not need much space. A covered bin or pit in a corner of your yard is enough. You can also use a simple pile covered with leaves or cardboard. The key ingredients are: greens (fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, grass clippings) and browns (dry leaves, paper, cardboard, sawdust).

What to add and what to avoid

Do add: fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, garden trimmings, dry leaves, shredded paper. Do not add: meat, dairy, oily foods, bones, diseased plants, or plastics. These attract pests, create odours, or contaminate the compost.

Maintaining your compost

Keep your compost moist but not wet. It should feel like a wrung-out sponge. Turn it every week or two with a stick to let air in. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), well-managed compost can be ready in 2 to 4 months in warm climates like Ghana's.

Using your compost

Finished compost is dark, crumbly and smells like earth. Mix it into garden soil, use it as mulch around plants, or add it to pots. It improves soil structure, retains moisture, and reduces the need for chemical fertilisers. WasteCure offers composting training as part of our community education work.