GREEN 4 BETTER · MCS-1
Compost the right way at your community hub
Dropping off kitchen scraps? This quick guide shows you what goes in, what stays out, and how the MCS-1 turns scraps into garden gold — with no smell.
The one thing to remember: every time you add kitchen scraps (greens), cover them with a scoop of browns from the bin beside the MCS-1. That single habit keeps the hub fresh and odor-free for everyone.
Greens, Browns & Keep Out
Compost needs two kinds of ingredients — plus a short list of things that never belong in a shared community bin.
GREENS
Wet & nitrogen-rich — these feed the microbes and bring the moisture.
BROWNS
Dry & carbon-rich — these add structure, soak up moisture, and trap odors.
KEEP OUT
Never in the MCS-1 — these cause smells, attract pests, or never break down.
Not sure about something? Leave it out and ask a hub volunteer. When in doubt, keep it out.
The Golden Rule: 3 to 1
A healthy pile is mostly browns. Aim for about 3 parts browns to 1 part greens, measured by volume — buckets and scoops, not weight.
Think of it like a lasagna: dry layer, wet layer, dry layer — and the top layer is always browns.
- 1Add your greens through the side inlet of the MCS-1.
- 2Cover them completely with a scoop of browns from the bin beside the hub — no scraps peeking out.
- 3Repeat next visit. Scraps arrive a little each day, and the layers build up over time.
Try it: build a lasagna
Tap to add buckets and see if you can hit the 3-to-1 balance.
One box, two phases
A community hub fills up slowly, a little each day. The MCS-1 works in two stages — and its sensors know which stage it's in.
Quiet & fresh
While the box is still filling, there isn't enough material to heat up — and that's fine. The fan runs low and intermittently, just enough to keep air moving.
The goal in this phase is simple: stay aerobic — oxygen keeps things fresh instead of smelly, while your layers accumulate.
The hot phase
Once the box is about two-thirds full, there's enough mass for the microbes to generate real heat. The fan switches to full aeration.
The core climbs into the sweet spot of 131–149°F — hot enough to break waste down fast and knock out weed seeds and germs.
Sort It!
Think you know your greens from your browns? Sort all 12 items — tap where each one belongs.
How the MCS-1 helps
Good compost needs air, water, and warmth in the right balance. The MCS-1 is built to hold all three in the sweet spot — powered entirely by the sun.
Fishbone aeration — the pile breathes
A solar fan pushes air through a fishbone-shaped pipe network under the pile, keeping oxygen above 5% everywhere. Happy microbes, no rotten-egg smell.
Drip irrigation — perfect hydration
A drip line on the lid sprinkles water evenly over the pile, keeping it about as damp as a wrung-out sponge — never soggy, never bone dry.
Insulation + chimney — the thermal sweet spot
Insulated walls hold the heat in while the chimney lets warm air rise and pull fresh air through. The core stays at 131–149°F, where decomposition runs fastest.
2–3x faster than a passive pile
A backyard pile left alone can take many months. By holding air, moisture, and temperature at their best levels, the MCS-1 is designed to break waste down 2–3x faster than traditional passive composting.
Quick fixes
Almost every compost problem has a simple fix — and it usually starts with browns.
It smells bad
→ Fix: Add browns and cover the greens. A smell means too much wet green material and not enough air. A thick brown layer on top fixes most odors within a day.
It looks too dry
→ Fix: Add water — or fresh greens. Dry piles just sit there. Greens bring moisture with them, and the drip system tops it up. Aim for wrung-out-sponge damp.
Fruit flies!
→ Fix: Bury greens under browns. Flies only show up when exposed scraps do. Push greens down and blanket them with a full layer of browns — no exposed food, no flies.