Apartment composting made simple: a complete beginner's guide
When you live in a small apartment, composting seems impossible. Yet even in 35 m², I managed to turn organic waste into something useful — and since 1 January 2024, the loi AGEC has made some form of bio-waste sorting mandatory for every French household. Three years in, I've diverted over 200 kilos of food scraps from the bin and learned what genuinely works in 35 square metres.
Choosing the right method for your apartment
In a flat, three setups dominate. Vermicompost (a stacked bin populated with Eisenia worms) sits on a balcony or under the sink, takes about a 50 × 50 cm footprint, and is silent and odour-free when balanced. The Bokashi system uses an airtight bucket and a bran inoculant: it ferments rather than composts, accepts cooked food and small amounts of dairy/fish that worms refuse, but produces a pickled mass that still needs to finish in soil or a shared composter. Balcony composters (open or rotating) need at least one square metre and only suit larger balconies. For a 35 m² flat with one or two people, vermicompost is almost always the right answer; Bokashi is the upgrade if you cook a lot or have meat scraps.
What you actually need to buy
A starter vermicompost kit from Vers la Terre, City Worms, or the version sold by Botanic and Truffaut runs €70–€150 depending on tray count. Add €15–€25 for the initial 250–500 g of Eisenia foetida worms (some French municipalities — Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg — distribute starter worms free; check your local mairie). The Bokashi route is cheaper to start (€40–€80 for the bucket plus €10 for a bag of bran) but needs ongoing bran purchases. In both cases the recurring cost is essentially zero after year one. Avoid the very cheap unbranded bins on marketplaces — drainage is usually the failure point and you will get fruit-fly issues.
Avoiding the three mistakes every beginner makes
First, the wet/dry imbalance: too many fruit and vegetable peelings without dry browns (cardboard, dead leaves, egg cartons torn small) creates anaerobic pockets and bad smell. Aim for roughly 50/50 by volume. Second, citrus and onion overload: small amounts are fine, but worms slow down on heavy citrus loads — keep these under 20 % of weekly input. Third, ignoring the leachate tap on a vermicompost bin — empty it weekly into a watering can (diluted 1:10 it is excellent liquid fertiliser) or it will go septic and crash the colony. If you do hit a fruit-fly bloom, cover the surface with a 5 cm layer of damp cardboard for two weeks; the population collapses without insecticide.
Concrete results after three years
Across 36 months I diverted around 210 kg of organic waste from the residual bin (weighed monthly for the first year, estimated thereafter). Household trash volume dropped by roughly 30 % — close to the ADEME national average for households that compost. The bin produced about 25 kg of finished vermicompost and 40 litres of diluted leachate per year, all of which went into balcony herbs and tomatoes that genuinely outperform supermarket-soil controls I planted side-by-side. The unexpected result: three neighbours now drop their peelings into my bin, which means the whole stairwell composts informally — exactly the kind of micro-collective behaviour the loi AGEC was designed to encourage.
What the law actually requires (and what it doesn't)
Loi AGEC obliges your collectivity to provide a bio-waste sorting solution; it does not fine individuals for not composting. Most French communes now offer either a brown bio-waste kerbside bin, a network of shared composters in courtyards (composteurs collectifs), or subsidised home composters via the local syndicat de traitement des déchets. Paris, Lyon, Rennes and Nantes subsidise vermicompost kits 50–100 % up to a fixed cap; the application is usually a one-page form on the syndicat website. If you live in a copropriété, a shared composter can be installed in the courtyard with a simple AG vote — fewer than half of buildings have done this so far, which is a quick win for any motivated co-owner.
Conclusion: Apartment composting isn't just for eco-activists. With the right tools, a small subsidy from your commune, and a fortnight of getting the wet/dry balance right, it slots into daily life and quietly cuts a third of your household waste. Complete your zero-waste journey with our zero-waste kitchen guide and our reducing food waste playbook.
Frequently asked questions
Is composting mandatory in France since 2024?
Sorting bio-waste at source is mandatory for every household since 1 January 2024 (loi AGEC). Composting at home is one accepted route; using the brown bio-waste bin or a shared composter is equivalent. There is no individual fine, but your commune is legally required to provide an option.
Will a vermicompost bin smell or attract pests in a small flat?
A correctly balanced vermicompost bin smells of forest floor, not waste. Bad smell almost always means too much wet input or a flooded base — fix both and the smell disappears in 48 hours. Fruit flies appear from over-ripe fruit on the surface; cover with damp cardboard for two weeks to break the cycle.
How much does it cost to start in 2026?
€70–€150 for a starter vermicompost kit, €15–€25 for the worms, and zero recurring cost. Many French cities (Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg, Nantes) subsidise 50–100 % of the kit cost — check your syndicat de traitement des déchets. Bokashi is cheaper to start (~€40) but has ongoing bran costs.
Can I compost cooked food, meat, or dairy?
Worms refuse cooked food, meat, dairy and oil. Bokashi accepts them because it ferments anaerobically — that's its main advantage. After fermentation the Bokashi mass still needs to finish in soil or a shared composter (about three weeks). For meat-heavy households, Bokashi is the right answer.
What do I do with the compost in an apartment?
Use it for balcony plants, give it to a neighbour with a garden, or drop it at a shared courtyard composter. In Paris and Lyon, shared composters and Trilib stations explicitly accept finished compost surplus from residents. Diluted leachate (1:10 with water) is an excellent liquid fertiliser for indoor plants.
Frequently asked questions
Is composting mandatory in France since 2024?
Sorting bio-waste at source is mandatory for every household since 1 January 2024 (loi AGEC). Composting at home is one accepted route; using the brown bio-waste bin or a shared composter is equivalent. There is no individual fine, but your commune is legally required to provide an option.
Will a vermicompost bin smell or attract pests in a small flat?
A correctly balanced vermicompost bin smells of forest floor, not waste. Bad smell almost always means too much wet input or a flooded base — fix both and the smell disappears in 48 hours. Fruit flies appear from over-ripe fruit on the surface; cover with damp cardboard for two weeks to break the cycle.
How much does it cost to start in 2026?
€70–€150 for a starter vermicompost kit, €15–€25 for the worms, and zero recurring cost. Many French cities (Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg, Nantes) subsidise 50–100 % of the kit cost — check your syndicat de traitement des déchets. Bokashi is cheaper to start (~€40) but has ongoing bran costs.
Can I compost cooked food, meat, or dairy?
Worms refuse cooked food, meat, dairy and oil. Bokashi accepts them because it ferments anaerobically — that's its main advantage. After fermentation the Bokashi mass still needs to finish in soil or a shared composter (about three weeks). For meat-heavy households, Bokashi is the right answer.
What do I do with the compost in an apartment?
Use it for balcony plants, give it to a neighbour with a garden, or drop it at a shared courtyard composter. In Paris and Lyon, shared composters and Trilib stations explicitly accept finished compost surplus from residents. Diluted leachate (1:10 with water) is an excellent liquid fertiliser for indoor plants.
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About the author:
Julien Maurice is the founder of AdminLanding and writes the editorial guides on GreenDailyFix covering French renovation aid, energy policy, and the administrative side of the energy transition. Contact: [email protected]
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