On-site composting, made simple.
A plain-English guide for society committees: whether the BMC rules apply to you, what you have to do with your wet waste, and how to choose a system that keeps working.
Does this apply to your society?
Under the BMC’s rules for bulk waste generators, premises that generate more than 100 kg of waste a day, or are built over 20,000 sq m, must manage their own waste.
In practice that means three things: segregate waste at source into wet and dry, process the wet waste on your own premises — usually with a composter or organic waste converter (OWC) — and hand dry waste to authorised collectors and recyclers.
Rules and how they are applied can change. Check the latest with your ward office — this guide explains the usual approach, not legal advice.
Six steps to a system that works
- 01
Measure your waste
Weigh the wet (kitchen) waste your society produces for a week and take the daily average. This one number decides the size of everything else.
- 02
Get segregation working
Composting only works with clean wet waste. Residents need separate wet and dry bins, and housekeeping staff need to keep them separate.
- 03
Choose the system
Pick a composter — manual drums for smaller volumes, motorised organic waste converters for larger ones — and decide whether you need a shredder to speed things up.
- 04
Find the space
Plan a covered spot near the bin area with a water point, drainage and (for motorised units) a power supply.
- 05
Install and train
Have the system installed and your staff trained on daily feeding, turning and harvesting — or have an operator run it for you.
- 06
Keep it running
Regular servicing keeps motors, bearings and doors in order. Keep simple records of waste processed and compost produced.
Which system fits your society?
Size it to your daily wet waste. As a rough guide, our composters handle from 2 to 150 kg a day — and we’ll size it for you, free.
Manual composting drums
Rotating twin-compartment drums for smaller daily volumes. No electricity, low running cost — your staff turn them daily.
Motorised OWCs
Motor-driven organic waste converters for larger societies — less manual effort and higher daily capacity.
Shredders
Shredding wet and garden waste first makes it compost faster and more evenly, and saves space in the composter.
Run-a-Unit operator
If you’d rather not train staff, a trained operator runs the composter for you every day.
Questions societies ask us
Something else? Ask us directly.
Is our society a bulk waste generator?
Under BMC’s rules for bulk waste generators, premises that generate more than 100 kg of waste a day, or are built over 20,000 sq m, are covered. If you’re unsure, measure your daily waste for a week — we can help with a free audit.
What do bulk waste generators have to do?
Segregate waste at source and process the wet (biodegradable) waste on their own premises — usually with an on-site composter or organic waste converter — and hand dry waste to authorised collectors or recyclers.
Will a composter smell or attract rats?
A closed, in-bin aerobic composter that is turned daily and fed with the right amount of dry material stays odour-free and keeps rodents out. Most problems come from mixing in plastic or skipping the daily routine.
How much space do we need?
It depends on the size of the system. Share your daily waste figure and site photos, and we’ll tell you the footprint and where it can go.
What do we do with the compost?
Use it in the society’s gardens and planters, share it with residents, or give it to nearby gardens and nurseries.
Do the rules change?
They can, and so can how the BMC applies them. Check the latest with your ward office — and ask us, we deal with it every day.
Start with a free waste audit.
We’ll measure what your society produces, check the space you have, and recommend a system — to buy, rent or have us run.