Composting has been around longer than the wheel — our grandparents did it without thinking. Yet somewhere between then and now, a fog of myths grew around it. Here are the most common ones, and the truth behind each.
Myth 1: “Composting smells terrible”
Done right, compost smells like wet earth after rain. The bad smell people associate with compost actually comes from rotting food in a sealed plastic bag — which is anaerobic decomposition, the opposite of composting. A healthy compost bin barely registers a scent.
Myth 2: “You need a garden”
You don’t. Apartment dwellers across Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune compost on balconies, in kitchens, even under sinks. Modern composters are designed to be compact and odourless precisely for Indian apartment living.
Myth 3: “It attracts rats, flies, and cockroaches”
Pests are attracted to exposed food waste, not compost. A properly enclosed composter actually keeps pests away better than an open dustbin where wet waste sits for two days waiting for collection.
Myth 4: “It’s complicated and time-consuming”
The actual daily effort is under two minutes. Toss in your kitchen scraps, give it a stir if needed, close the lid. That’s it. People spend longer making chai.
Myth 5: “Only vegetarian waste can be composted”
This depends on the method. Traditional pit composting struggles with non-veg waste, but modern enclosed systems handle small amounts of cooked food, dairy, and even some meat and fish scraps without issue.
Myth 6: “It’s only useful if you have plants”
Even if you don’t garden, your compost has buyers. Nurseries, urban farms, and your gardening neighbours will happily take it. Many housing societies now collect resident compost for community gardens.
Myth 7: “It’s a hippie thing”
Composting is just basic resource management. It was the default in Indian homes for centuries before plastic dustbins arrived. If anything, throwing food into a landfill is the strange modern habit — composting is the return to normal.
The takeaway
Most of what stops people from composting is misinformation, not effort. Once you start, the myths dissolve in days. Your kitchen waste becomes garden gold, and you’ll wonder why you waited so long.