Tried to start a community compost bin at my apartment complex and it backfired hard

I got permission from the manager to set up a small compost bin behind building C at my complex in Portland. After about 2 weeks, some tenant threw a full bag of rotting meat into it and the smell got so bad they shut the whole thing down. Has anyone actually gotten a community composting setup to work without issues like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.zara21d ago

Wait, someone actually tossed a whole Christmas ham in there? That's insane even by Portland standards. @the_hannah nailed it with the enforcement angle.

the_hannah21d ago

Used to be all about community composting, thought it was the perfect solution for food waste. Then my neighbor tried a similar thing in our complex's back area. Someone tossed a whole Christmas ham in there, bones and all, and the raccoons had a party every single night for a week. It was a nightmare, honestly changed my whole view on it. Now I think you basically need a locked, heavy duty bin with a sign that says "NO MEAT NO DAIRY NO BONES" in big red letters. Plus you gotta have one person willing to be the enforcer, checking the bin every few days and calling people out. Without that kind of gatekeeping, it just turns into a stinky free-for-all.