Anyone use a shredder for composting?

I'm getting old and short of time (aka lazy) recently and my compost bin has become very neglected as a result. I've had this idea of using a shredder to chop up our green waste for the compost bin. When I say green I mean shrubs and hedge cuttings. I have a number of raspberry canes and large grass plants that when I cut them down also produce a lot of waste.

So I have this idea to use a shredder to shred our waste and reduce the size of our compost bin needed too. I'm also finding that as my grass plants get bigger they are producing more waste and so are taking longer to break down. We don't really have any trees or woody material just green waste.

Another problem is that our 4 sheds cannot house a shredder but we have space outside to stash it under some trees when its not in use. Does anyone else store their shredder outside with say a tarpaulin cover over it?

 

That's great to hear Armandii. You don't cover your compost heap, so what do you do with your kitchen waste? I've thought about doing this but am concerned about rats. We have mice already, which doesn't bother me, but rats do.

Also what shredder do you use?

 

I use a shredder a massive amount (petrol, Viking model, Viking being an offshoot of Stihl I think).Like Armandii I shred everything apart from the likes of Couch, ground Elder etc for obvious reasons. If you have fair amounts of both green and brown material to deal with then the outlay for a shredder is definitely a good idea. I don't know about electric ones. Mine is quite powerful but needs to be as it has to cope with the likes of clippings from a 50 ft Beech hedge and similar length Holly hedge. By shredding and mixing with the likes of grass clippings even the Holly doesn't take too long to break down. I have various compost heaps. Some I cover some I don't. I'd say probably covering is best from a heating point of view but you make sure the pile is wet enough as can get incredibly dry if covered. Again like Armandii my shredder stays in the garage when not in use. Mine can have the feed tube detached for storage so despite being a fairly powerful beast it doesn't take up as much room as say wheelie bin. I'd have thought a heavy duty waterproof cover would be ok for keeping it outside but might be dodgy if you buy an electric one? I've had my shredder for at least 6 years. Apart from getting the blade sharpened (double sided blade) once it hasn't had anything done to it/serviced etc. Starts with only about 3 pulls and has stood up to heavy use and hardly goes through any oil at all. I haven't worked it out (not that sad!) but I'd reckon my shredder has probably paid for itself by now as hardly ever buy compost and use Beech clippings as an alternative to bark chips which look not bad and don't break down for a good 3 years when spread on the beds on their own without green material to speed the breakdown process up if this makes sense.

 

I've got a atco 2000 shredder and most things go through, but it don't like wet sappy greens like runner bean plants and stem of cabbages they seem to just go around the chipping cog, the big woody stuff when dry will go on the log burner to keep us warm, but what goes into the compost heap go through it news papers/cardboard etc
i even put my old printer through it took all the metal out but all the plastic went through and then went for recycling
As for leaving it out side i don't as elecy and water don't mix

 

I've been using a small flail type chipper/shredder for the last 20-odd years. From that experience, the one thing that I would suggest is that there are several factors that should be considered in choosing one.

In no particular order, one factor is noise. The type I use is REALLY noisy, but its ok for me because I dont have neighbours.

Then there is the type of shredder. That is, the method it used to do the shredding. Impact or knife types tend to be noisy, but cut the things finer than the roller type. The flail type I use does a nice job, but does not really like fresh waste. Especially things such as Siberian Pea tend to go straight through unless it has dried for a couple of months.

Petrol types tend to be more powerful than electric, but I would suggest that the type chosen depends on the garden, and how close the shredding operation is to a power supply.

I'll leave it at that, and hope other members pass comments.

 

I've had an electric 2200 watt blade shredder for the last 6 years or so and keep it indoors when not in use. As others have said, it quickly gets clogged up if you put a lot of green through it without alternating with some woody stuff. I stopped shredding lonicera nitida prunings as I got fed up of it slicing the long thin branches longways instead of chopping them up into small pieces. It chops up thicker branches much better and they do rot down much quicker as a result. As John says, going over the stuff you have with a mower could be another option.

 

Thanks for the comments guys. I want a shredder mainly for my grass plants which make long thick straight stems which are depressing to cut up by hand and still don't compost that quickly. Would an impact shredder be ok for them? I was hoping to use it for shredding my privet trimmings but I should have mentioned I had a shredder a few years ago that my neighbour was chucking out and it hardly did anything to them.

 

Recently got a Ryobi rotary mulcher / chipper. It chops woody stuff up to 45mm dia into small lumps, and minces green stuff like conifer clippings and laurel. It makes a good mix for either mulching direct or adding to compost bins. Wouldnt dream of leaving electric tools in the open. As Jiffy says water and electricity dont mix.

Good compost requires a balance of woody and green material. All kitchen vegative waste goes in, egg shells, tea bags and the contents of the paper document shredder too. The inks are neutral in about 3 months. Also sawdust and wood shavings.

 

You put saw dust in your compost bin? I've never had much luck with composting it so gave up with it and sling it in the council green waste bin as I make so much of it nowadays.

 

One thing that they do here with sawdust is mix it in equal quantities when possible with grass clippings. As was stated above, good compost does need a mixture of green and woody stuff. That fits the bill nicely, and as long as it is nicely mixed, goes down relatively quickly.

Regarding shredders. My engine in my old petrol one has given up after 25 years of use, and was replaced by an electric one from Makita. Cant say I'm impressed with anything about it apart from the noise level.

Anybody got a Tecumseh H50 short block to repair my old one?