On Feb 21, 2:43*pm, Dan Espen wrote:
Ferg123 writes:
As a product designer, my aim is to design a product which overcomes
problems with certain tasks.
When I researched composting in the garden, several issues were
highlighted:
-Some foods which *when composted attract Rodents (Eggshells for
example).

Discussed recently here.
Don't put meat in the compost. * I'm less convinced about
eggshells.

-In the heat of summer, compost heaps can give off bad odours.

Not true. *(Unless you're putting meat in the compost.)

-the task of mixing compost with a spade or fork can be difficult for some
people such as the elderly or the less mobile.

Absolutely. *I'm 66 and staying young turning a really massive pile
by hand. *Actually, I dig and sift it through a screen. *Once a year.
Anything not broken down yet goes back in the pile.

I found the idea of making a rotating bin interesting as it means rodents
can not get near the waste, the odours are contained within a sealed
container and it reduces the energy needed to turn the compost (if
designed properly).

There are no odors (IMO) but I don't think a bin will keep the odors
in. *I wouldn't expect a bin to be airtight.

I understand the issue of a plastic monstrosity but if aesthetically
suited to the garden I feel it could be a potentially popular product.

I think color might help, but not green. *At least in my case, in the
summer the compost is fully hidden by the trees. *It's in the winter
that I see it. *I've put a few holly seedlings in the yard with the
idea of hiding the pile even in the winter. *I'd want any bin to be
black or brown.

Thanks Dan, really appreciate people giving their input

Even negative input, I hope.

--
Dan Espen

***This is a general reply, not just to Dan, about why I just quit
composting. Excuse detailed post.

Last year or so, some neighbors and I bought a bin sold for $40
(discounted) by the City - this is So. Calif Coastal. It consisted
of four square plastic components that fit into each other vertically
(and could be taken apart individually). The idea was to fill it up,
water properly, etc. and when deemed appropriate, reverse the whole
thing by removing the top component, placing it elsewhere,
pitchforking its content into the top one which is now the bottom one,
et. seq. You would then arrive at the content of the former bottom
square, which would in theory be ready-to-use compost. (There must be
an easier way to describe this?)

I did it once or twice, but found it a pain; not great results. Also,
my gardener kept putting in too much stuff, causing the composter to
bulge at the seams.

Now the City has announced that food waste may be added to the yard
waste bins. Result should be will be that their next quarterly free
distribution of
(lovely, fine-textured compost) will be even richer because of the
food waste.

So I have dismantled the bin and saved the little that looks something
like compost. I'll clean it out, put on Craigs List, see who bites.

Looking back over this and the previous composter, I probably should
have just made a pile at the back of the garden and turned
periodically w/pitchfork.

Anybody else think their municipality would set up such a program?

HB