Council supplied composting bins

I have just been somewhat surprised ... was looking to buy some more compost bins ... and find my local council supplies them at seriously good prices .... £6 for a 330L bin .....

That is truly a great deal

Home Composting

 

Thats not bad Sargan.

If they are the open bottom ones, you might want to put some metal mesh down first as the rats will be straight in there.

 

Wish i lived nearer i would have ordered one, i wonder if they do a similar scheme here, i will have to look into that.

 

And if there's rats about and the bins have these hatches, you'll need to wire them up to stop them wriggling in the ill-fitting sides that bulge out when it's full:

 

I have one of these alreday, never had a problem with rats - but thanks for the comments

 

Hey that is a good price the same 330l bin in the havant council scheme is £18 they do the base too for another £8

 

We're not allowed to say R-A-T-S here on the island because of a very old superstition. They are called long-tails.

 

If I remember ours was £10 through the local council, it was a few years ago - its an open bottom one like the photo above, might just put some mesh down just in-case :DOH:

(Edit)
It looks like the scheme may have ended up here, as all the links (through WRAP) hit 404 errors !!!

 

out local council don't do anything like this

I emailed them asking if they supplied a compost bin, recieved a polite reply saying no,
emailed them back asking if its possible to buy the compost instead, again recieved a replay saying no,
emailed them again telling them what i thought of that and recieved an email with a link to a comments page .... decided it was best not to go there

 

I looked at the plastic council ones and decided a few pallets was more suited to my use and easier to stir the compost.

 

I have found that with these bins, you actually need 2 .... it takes very long for the stuff to turn into compost and break down completely ....

at one home, it is now nearly 8 months that the bin is full, and the compost is still not ready the last time I checked (unless we are doing something wrong?) ....

we don't use any of the compost accelerator stuff though, nor any water and seldom turn the compost as it's difficult to do this in those bins unless you completely empty it and then put the compost back ....

we don't use any grass clippings, and most of the stuff in the bins are vegetable leftovers such as cabbage leaves, cauliflower, salad greens, banana peels and fruit peels etc and sometimes a bit of cardboard such as empty toilet roll holders ... we also bought a bucket of approx 1000 tiger worms off ebay to help with the breaking down

I have always prefered the bins that can be rotated, as it seems to break down a lot faster ...

 

Sounds as if you might have a bit too much green stuff? You can add more cardboard or paper if you shred it.
I've got 3 compost bins, and always have trouble as I can't turn the contents physically. I've got a small rotating one, which is fine but a bit difficult to empty, a big council supplied 'dalek', and a Green Johanna, also council supplied at £20. This has really well insulated sides and a perforated base so that you can put all food waste in it, it is also difficult to empty, but if I'm careful with layering it doesn't need turning.
I've just read a really good book on composting:
'How to Make and Use Compost' by Nicky Scott

 

Confirmed

I was always advised buy the best you can afford and get bigger as you will find after you have bought the small one you will regret it

Well, in hindsight NO
I have a 5'x5'x3 high and it takes me more than a year to fill it, and off course only the bottom bit is possibly broken down
I would have been better not buying and got three of the free daleks the council were giving (you could have a free Dalek or a 5x5 for £10 )
(ONE Dalek per househould, only my close neighbours are slabbed so they would have taken them for me)

Oh well live and learn

Jack McH

 

try here

Recycle now - Home Composting
click on the compost bin with the england flag put in postcode
will tell you if your able to get one
i have two of the dalek type one from
the site and another from a mate who no longer needed his