Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

Hi all, my local council is offering the following 330 litre compost bin at a subsidised price of only £10. Here is a pictu

http://www2.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/...hotos+Mediuma/$file/composter+scheme1Med.jpg

I just wanted to get some opinions on this type of bin. To me it looks like it will be hard to turn the contents properly, but that is just on the assumtion of the picture. Also does anyone have the retail price for this type of bin? If anyone has had experiances with this type please can I have some feed back, thank you,:)

Sorry that link doesnt work, try this one:

http://www.digitalmaidstone.co.uk/cl...stbinsmall.jpe

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

"dommy" wrote in message
s.com...
: Sorry that link doesnt work, try this one:
:
: http://tinyurl.com/ephq
: --
: dommy
: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
: posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

It looks ideal to me. Far better than the one's our council did. They had
no outlet to remove compost at the botton. It looks from the pic as though
there is a lid on top, so there would be no problem in turning compost.
I've no idea how much it would cost but a damned sight more that 10 quid.
I'd go for it.

K

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

On Thursday 19 June 2003 12:48, dommy wrote article
m in uk.rec.gardening:

Hi all, my local council is offering the following 330 litre compost bin
at a subsidised price of only £10.

Ordered one last week (Mid Suffolk Council) but mine was £19.95 for the same
bin!! They are ordered form a firm called Blackwall and are delivered
"within 4 weeks". The price must depend on the generosity of your local
council.

I just wanted to get some opinions on this type of bin. To me it looks
like it will be hard to turn the contents properly, but that is just on
the assumtion of the picture. Also does anyone have the retail price
for this type of bin? If anyone has had experiances with this type
please can I have some feed back, thank you,:)

I bought a similar one from B&Q last year, think it was about £35, and yes
it can be difficult to turn if you try emptying from the bottom. Easiest
way (if you have the room) is to lift it off the compost which with luck
stays in a "tower". Fork it over and back in the bin.

I do find it reluctant to get hot, stirring it up a bit produces the
occasional puff of steam but not much more.
--
Regards, Charles

cthorp at globalnet dot co dot uk
"I really cannot tolerate intolerance"

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

Try this: http://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/acat...post_Bins.html

Looks similar to yours, costs 46 squid for 300l model. I have a similar bin
that works well. You can turn the compost a bit by just sticking a fork
through the top and twirling away while it's only part full, but once the
level starts to build up, to be honest it is easier to just lift the whole
thing off the pile and dig it out that way (there's no base to it,
remember). Just make sure you leave yourself enough space to do so when
siting the bin. (Hint: behind the shed may keep the bin out of sight, but
doesn't leave much room for digging...)

Cheers,

Martin

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

It looks the same as the ones provided by my local council (made by
Blackwall).
I have four of them. They are very good value for money.

However, I don't have time to wait 6 months or a year or more for the
compost to rot down into the fine crumbly compost often quoted as the
ideal - simply not enough bins or space to do that, so I use the compost
when it is semi rotted after three - four months, at which time it has the
consistency of semi rotted farm manure. Great for digging into the veg plot
for potatoes and other greedy feeders.

The little door / outlet I find totally useless since the compost hasn't
rotted down fine enough to pull it out from there. I use urine as a compost
accelerator - which works very well with this type of bin and turn the
compost every month or so. It isn't very easy to turn the compost through
the top, the rim also has a fairly sharp edge and can easily graze the skin.
So, with a little wriggling, I pull the entire composter off the heap, turn
and re-fill it.

Depending on the time of year either 1 or all 4 bins are in use. One bonus
is that they stack, saving space when not in use.

All, in all, I think they are very good value for money.

--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

I do find it reluctant to get hot, stirring it up a bit produces the
occasional puff of steam but not much more.
--
Regards, Charles

The amount of heat depends upon the contents. I use the Blackwall composters
and save (dry) kitchen and garden waste in a dustbin, until my neighbour
gives me a sack or two of lawn clippings. Then mix the lot together into a
composter and add a couple of gallons of water mixed with urine as an
activator. Within 24 hours the composter is literally steaming - hot to the
touch! After a few days the full composter has gone down to about 1/4 full.

--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

Thanks for your feed back everybody, much appreciated.

I may get one from them, at £10 its not a lot of money. Only problem seems to be the turning i guess. I am also thinking of building a 1 cubic metre bin out of old palletes. Put them side by side and see how things go from there.

I think first make get the stuff rotted down for a few months in the pallete container and them put it into the councils subsided bin to let it finnish off. And then start a new one up again.

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

In article , K
writes

"dommy" wrote in message
ws.com...
: Sorry that link doesnt work, try this one:
:
: http://tinyurl.com/ephq
: --
: dommy
: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
: posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

It looks ideal to me. Far better than the one's our council did. They had
no outlet to remove compost at the botton. It looks from the pic as though
there is a lid on top, so there would be no problem in turning compost.
I've no idea how much it would cost but a damned sight more that 10 quid.
I'd go for it.

It looks identical to the one our council gave us!

Mind you, it was as a sop to those who had bought a wheelie bin for 32
quid when the council made them available only for them to be issued
free to everyone 18 months later. Those of us who had already paid for a
wheelie bin were given a compost bin which the council *claimed* was
worth 15 quid!

I've only had it four months and, although it has both a lid and a
bottom outlet, I'd already worked out that it was going to be easier to
lift the whole thing off, put it down alongside and re-fill it.
Fortunately, we've plenty of room to do that.

--
Malcolm

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

I also have a Blackwall bin bought through my local council for a
reduced cost. I agree that its not so easy turning it through the
top, and did consider the "empty it all out" approach, but I then
found that my "garden claw" (which I use in the garden to help reduce
back strain and find really good for that) is great as I can fit it
into the compost bin and turn away.

I've been filling mine since October now, but maybe filling isnt such
a good term, as it is still only just ove half full! I bring home all
the tea bags, apples cores, banana skins etc from work (about 2 litres
uncompacted volume daily) and put that on, along with kitchen scraps
and garden waste from home It seems to be going nicely now after an
understandably slow start over the winter. I was pleased to find it
really hot the other day when i turned it - I thought I had stirred up
some nastry dust or fungus, but no it was steam! (I think) My plan is
to get this full (? and leave it till next spring, and get another bin
in the Autumn to start in the way. Then I should have one bin
filling, one bin decomposing in an ongoing cycle.

My only problem is flies in the bin can be a nuisance. Any
suggestions? And I often see slugs in there too - or is this not
really a problem until I come to put the stuff in the garden. Or
should I be greatful that they are munching my compost matter and not
my plants?

My husband thinks its a little sad that I get so enthused about my
compost bin, but this is the first time I've done this and its great!
We have a great recycling schem here too, and I love to see our
rubbish bag shrink each week as I realise that there's soething else I
can recycle or compost.

I have to say I havent tried the urine as an activator thing yet,
though a friend at work assures me - and I do believe her - that it
works a treat.

Sam


On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 14:42:36 +0100, "Drakanthus"
wrote:

It looks the same as the ones provided by my local council (made by
Blackwall).
I have four of them. They are very good value for money.

However, I don't have time to wait 6 months or a year or more for the
compost to rot down into the fine crumbly compost often quoted as the
ideal - simply not enough bins or space to do that, so I use the compost
when it is semi rotted after three - four months, at which time it has the
consistency of semi rotted farm manure. Great for digging into the veg plot
for potatoes and other greedy feeders.

The little door / outlet I find totally useless since the compost hasn't
rotted down fine enough to pull it out from there. I use urine as a compost
accelerator - which works very well with this type of bin and turn the
compost every month or so. It isn't very easy to turn the compost through
the top, the rim also has a fairly sharp edge and can easily graze the skin.
So, with a little wriggling, I pull the entire composter off the heap, turn
and re-fill it.

Depending on the time of year either 1 or all 4 bins are in use. One bonus
is that they stack, saving space when not in use.

All, in all, I think they are very good value for money.

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

I also have a Blackwall bin bought through my local council for a
reduced cost. I agree that its not so easy turning it through the
top, and did consider the "empty it all out" approach, but I then
found that my "garden claw" (which I use in the garden to help reduce
back strain and find really good for that) is great as I can fit it
into the compost bin and turn away.

I've been filling mine since October now, but maybe filling isnt such
a good term, as it is still only just ove half full! I bring home all
the tea bags, apples cores, banana skins etc from work (about 2 litres
uncompacted volume daily) and put that on, along with kitchen scraps
and garden waste from home It seems to be going nicely now after an
understandably slow start over the winter. I was pleased to find it
really hot the other day when i turned it - I thought I had stirred up
some nastry dust or fungus, but no it was steam! (I think) My plan is
to get this full (? and leave it till next spring, and get another bin
in the Autumn to start in the way. Then I should have one bin
filling, one bin decomposing in an ongoing cycle.

My only problem is flies in the bin can be a nuisance. Any
suggestions? And I often see slugs in there too - or is this not
really a problem until I come to put the stuff in the garden. Or
should I be greatful that they are munching my compost matter and not
my plants?

My husband thinks its a little sad that I get so enthused about my
compost bin, but this is the first time I've done this and its great!
We have a great recycling schem here too, and I love to see our
rubbish bag shrink each week as I realise that there's soething else I
can recycle or compost.

I have to say I havent tried the urine as an activator thing yet,
though a friend at work assures me - and I do believe her - that it
works a treat.

Sam


On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 14:42:36 +0100, "Drakanthus"
wrote:

It looks the same as the ones provided by my local council (made by
Blackwall).
I have four of them. They are very good value for money.

However, I don't have time to wait 6 months or a year or more for the
compost to rot down into the fine crumbly compost often quoted as the
ideal - simply not enough bins or space to do that, so I use the compost
when it is semi rotted after three - four months, at which time it has the
consistency of semi rotted farm manure. Great for digging into the veg plot
for potatoes and other greedy feeders.

The little door / outlet I find totally useless since the compost hasn't
rotted down fine enough to pull it out from there. I use urine as a compost
accelerator - which works very well with this type of bin and turn the
compost every month or so. It isn't very easy to turn the compost through
the top, the rim also has a fairly sharp edge and can easily graze the skin.
So, with a little wriggling, I pull the entire composter off the heap, turn
and re-fill it.

Depending on the time of year either 1 or all 4 bins are in use. One bonus
is that they stack, saving space when not in use.

All, in all, I think they are very good value for money.

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

On Tue, 24 Jun 2003 20:05:25 +0000, Sam wrote:

Hi Sam,

My only problem is flies in the bin can be a nuisance. Any
suggestions? And I often see slugs in there too - or is this not
really a problem until I come to put the stuff in the garden. Or
should I be greatful that they are munching my compost matter and not
my plants?

Your heap is probably a bit on the dry side if you are suffering from
flies in it. Just water it with a hose / watering can every now and again.
You can also put in coffee/tea/squash/wine/bear/etc. dregs. The water from
boiling veg or pasta could also be added. All sources of extra / different
nutrients, and wet!

Personally, I don't worry about slugs in the compost heap - theres too
many other places I need to worry about them being in!

My husband thinks its a little sad that I get so enthused about my
compost bin, but this is the first time I've done this and its great!
We have a great recycling schem here too, and I love to see our
rubbish bag shrink each week as I realise that there's soething else I
can recycle or compost.

Hey, you're not sad - just doing your bit to try and save the planet. I
recycle as much as I can, and yes its a bit of a chore, but the upside is
that I only put my bin out about once a month (which confuses the hell out
of the dustmen!). I was very pleased to read that you were composting food
waste from your place of work. That is above and beyond the normal call of
duty!

Regards, and happy composting,

Sarah

(P.S. The fact you have only got a 1/2 full bin after all this time, is a
sign that what you have put in has been composted!)

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

Your heap is probably a bit on the dry side if you are suffering from
flies in it. Just water it with a hose / watering can every now and again.
You can also put in coffee/tea/squash/wine/bear/etc. dregs. The water from
boiling veg or pasta could also be added. All sources of extra / different
nutrients, and wet!

Cheers, I'll give that a try

I was very pleased to read that you were composting food
waste from your place of work. That is above and beyond the normal call of
duty!

Well, it just seemed such waste to throw them out. And I can easily
carry an empty ice cream container (quite a large one, admittedly)
back and forth on the bus.

Sam

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 19:15:58 +0000, Sam wrote:

I was very pleased to read that you were composting food
waste from your place of work. That is above and beyond the normal call of
duty!

Well, it just seemed such waste to throw them out. And I can easily
carry an empty ice cream container (quite a large one, admittedly)
back and forth on the bus.

I agree, the amount of waste people generate is amazing, and what do they
expect to happen with it???!!! They have recently introduced a "green"
policy at my workplace - you know, usual stuff - turn off the lights at
night, recycle your waste paper, I also think we will be having the
building double glazed, and they have added extra insulation to the roof.
But they could do so much more by separating the rubbish properly and a
few other tweaks and changes - still I suppose its a step in the right
direction. Mind you the policy get a lot of negative remarks from some of
my less environmentally clued up colleagues - I refrained from hitting
them in disgust!

I think the legislative drive will hopefully help things along. What we
really need to do is ensure all goods made are 100% recyclable, and made
in a substainable way. That would go a ways towards solving some of the
problems this world has. We also need to get certain countries less
consumer orientated, and go back to making things last as long as
possible, rather than the modern cycle where things are only built to last
7 years or so and then fall apart...

Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now, but these are issues I feel strongly
about, and don't often get a chance to discuss.

Sarah

Local Council subsidised compost bin, any good?
 

In article pan.2003.07.05.09.11.02.265430@
molnir.demon.co.uk, Sarah Dale writes

I think the legislative drive will hopefully help things along. What we
really need to do is ensure all goods made are 100% recyclable, and made
in a substainable way.

And cut down on the packaging!!

That would go a ways towards solving some of the
problems this world has. We also need to get certain countries less
consumer orientated, and go back to making things last as long as
possible, rather than the modern cycle where things are only built to last
7 years or so and then fall apart...

And change the culture where you get rid of things because they are no
longer fashionable or not the latest model, rather than because they've
ceased to function.

But how to do it? It'll probably only happen when our disposable incomes
are too low to allow us any other choice

And in all honesty, I'd find it very hard to give up my computer and all
my other energy guzzling conforts of modern life.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm