Composting in the Escuela Barreales, Chile. Composting is the aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter, producing compost. (Or in a simpler form: Composting is the decaying of food, mostly vegetables or manure.) The decomposition is performed primarily by facultative and obligate aerobic bacteria, yeasts and fungi, helped in the cooler initial and ending phases by a number of larger organisms, such as springtails, ants, nematodes and oligochaete worms. Composting can be divided into home composting and industrial composting. Essentially the same biological processes are involved in both scales of composting, however techniques and different factors must be taken into account.