My city has a composting program, collecting food and yard waste and providing free compost every month. It’s great but it smell awful—like burnt diarrhea is the best way I can describe it, or maybe rotten lemons and pig shit. Definitely a charred/burnt smell, which I guess is from the compost getting extremely hot, but I don’t know what the extremely pungent undertone of it is. It doesn’t smell like anaerobic decomposition, at least not as I’ve experienced it in my home bin. I’ve only used it a few times because the smell is so bad—usually I spread the compost out and let it sit until it doesn’t smell so bad before I use it, but in the meantime it makes the whole back yard stink. Any ideas on what causes this, and suggestions on how to handle it?
by Due_Fruit_5993
13 Comments
There’s probably a ton of manure in there, most dumps that make compost take manure for free. Also, they don’t care that much about ratios. They throw food scraps and mulched wood and *maybe* shredded cardboard or cardboard pulp, and turn it with a tractor every week.
Also, just the size. That’s a *lot* of decomposing matter.
Sorry im pretty new to composting, but doesnt compost usually smell if its got an imbalance? Like it doesnt have enough of a balance of all the materials it needs
That would make sense to me, as if its just a place for everyone to give their compost, i doubt they’re making sure its properly aerated/has the proper balance of everything it needs, causing to to break down anaerobically
You can probably try balancing out the compost yourself maybe? But otherwise i have no idea
i’ve never smelt compost the smells bad. i don’t think it exists.
Looks like you beat this guys pile, Looking forward to who will present a larger poop pile
[https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/1ju0xiv/okay_the_smell_is_insane/](https://www.reddit.com/r/composting/comments/1ju0xiv/okay_the_smell_is_insane/)
Some municipalities use bio solids that smell pretty bad.
because of people like me that put my dog waste in the green bin
Even the store bought compost at Costco smells terrible.
Maybe they aren’t peeing on it enough?
A lot of high nitrogen grass clippings from manicured lawns that won’t mulch or compost their own, plus all the limbs chipped from public parks.
It’s still better than a local turkey farm spreading the house scratch from a confined operation which just shipped it’s contents to the packing plant. Free Fertilizer!
Food waste compost usually smells bad along with grass compost if it’s not mixed with other leaf and yard waste. Leaf and yard waste is usually best.
The municipality “compost” in my area is from the sanitation district. 🥺
It’s the volume of it. I used to bike past a town compost every day. On certain days I didn’t want to breathe going by!
It sure looks good.