We have a large compost pile and a worm bin. In our last house, however, we had very little yard space so we just stuck to the vermi-composting. This is what I suggest for small families or single folks because you will have less waste and you can use the soil sooner than you can with a regular compost pile. The soil is good for house plants (remove worms for house plants) and larger planting boxes on your balcony. You can buy red, composting worms by mail, but you pay more for the overnight shipping. You can probably find a worm farm around somewhere. I suggest buying directly from a worm farmer, this way you can ask questions and get plenty of first hand advice. Don't be fooled into believing that you need some expensive container for composting. You can use a plastic storage bin, but you must make sure to drill holes on all sides of the container for ventilation. Also, you can start with anywhere from 100 to 1000 worms, but I suggest a small number because they will multiply especially if they are fed well. We lined the bottom with gravel, then started it with organic potting soil. Then worms and then more potting soil. You can buy a bit of worm food from the worm farmer to start with. This gives your worms an extra fighting start and gives you some time to build up some kitchen scraps. Feed worms any kind of raw vegetable/fruit scraps, unless it's woody/stalky like corn cobs, or pineapple tops. The worms won't eat it if it's too hard and it will take a really long time to break down. You can give them such things as: spent coffee grounds and filters, paper towels that do not have any kind of cleaner/soap on them, egg shells (we rinse ours first), news paper shreds, spent tea and tea bags (cut off metal staple), banana peels and they love watermelon rinds... I also give them rotted fruits or vegetables whenever I clean out my fridge. You said you were going to be composting on your balcony. Our worm bin is covered and it has it's own little ecosystem within. We keep a separate little trash can, or 'worm food can', just outside our back/kitchen door, and only feed the worms when that is full. It's about 12 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter, and it has a foot pedal for easy access (bought it at Bed Bath & Beyond). That way, we are not constantly disrupting the worm world. You might also consider placing the worm bin as far away from your house door as possible. There will be a lot of little gnats in there, so make sure to close the door to your house before opening the lid to the bin :) After your worms have begun to make a real home in the bin and they are eating well and multiplying (maybe after a month or two), then you can utilize the rich soil that they make from their castings. To do this, just open the lid and place the bin in direct sunlight for about 10 minutes (not too long obviously). This will cause the worms to dive to the bottom out of your way. You really don't want them in house plants because they'll just die, but it's okay to have them in the outdoor, larger planting boxes for planting small vegetables and flowers. There are a lot of good books you can buy. I'm fond of worms, so I'd be happy to talk about it more if you want to email me :) Hope this is helpful to you! Good luck!

This is a good tutorial on creating your own indoor composter: http://one-change.com/blog/2006/04/indoor-compost-bin/ A more expensive option is this: http://www.composters.com/compost-bins/naturemill-automatic-indoor-composter_19_1.php It's definitely posible to have non-smelly, pest free indoor compost! good luck!

I live in an apartment too. I have an upward migrating worm bin. An apartment sized composter and I have had much success with it. I got it from GennCulture.com The best part is that the worms are self-migrating through grids at the top and bottom. As they eat waste they move toward the fresher stuff leaving the compost behind which you empty out.