I've got my pallets...Shall get started straight away! Well when the sun comes up anyway! Does it not need to be enclosed though? With no gaps...I assumed that you would need it to be enclosed to keep the heat in to help the it contents to rot? Or am I way off?
We have a relatively small urban garden. I would like to recycle an old plastic bin for which we have no fuirther use into a compost bin. What are the essential requirements I need to ensure it operates effectively as a compost bin?
I am wondering the same as yellowgrass. Can a regular plastic bin be converted to a plastic composter. They are just too expensive to buy and my local council does not provide them.
I have used pallets for many many years to make compost bins. I place them on a level site and use plastic ties on each corner to hold four in a square. I have three bins together, one is always full, one getting full and the other standing by. When I need to empty the full one I cut the ties on the front pallet, remove it and take out the compost. I make sure it is very dry when I take it out so that I can sieve it. It must be kept damp when it is rotting down. I make sure I chop any hard material so that it rots easier. It rots down quicker if you turn it, but I never do! I just leave it for a year. I empty it out in the spring and spread it onto the ground where I need it.
Hilary, wrap your kitchen waste in newspaper - worms love it and it will stop the issue of waste dropping through the pallets.
All friends and neighbours know to drop off any old carpets they have because I use them on top of my pallet compost bins to weight down the waste and it also allows moisture through (am the same as James Williams - 3 bin system).
If Possible make two side by side, that way you can turn the top layer into bin two when you want to empty the first compost bin, the half rotted down materials starts the second compost bin off. Keep turning your heap every week or couple of weeks to aerate it, this will help speed up the decomposing, keep it damp but not wet, if it is composting well it should feel warm, even steaming on cold mornings! When the second bin is ready to be emptied, tip the top layers into bin one and start the rotation all over again.
Yellowgrass, everything will rot one way or another, using a bin you will have to turn your waste materials as there will be no natural circulation of air, with this method you will have to keep a check on the moisture levels, if it gets over wet mix in torn up cardboard or shredded paper, if you have moles near to you collect the mole hill earth and mix this in, the soil has natural bacteria in it and will help with the decomposing. Avoid fats or meat from the Sunday roast etc as this only attracts vermin, it will rot down eventually but there is also a chance of smells with this type of material. When you come to using the compost in your bin you will need to turn the bin out onto a plastic sheet to separate the well rotted from the partly rotted, returning this material back into the bin to complete the rotting down process. You don't have to do anything in the way of converting the bin, just use it as is.
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where do you get pallets from?
I am wondering the same as yellowgrass. Can a regular plastic bin be converted to a plastic composter. They are just too expensive to buy and my local council does not provide them.
I have used pallets for many many years to make compost bins. I place them on a level site and use plastic ties on each corner to hold four in a square. I have three bins together, one is always full, one getting full and the other standing by. When I need to empty the full one I cut the ties on the front pallet, remove it and take out the compost. I make sure it is very dry when I take it out so that I can sieve it. It must be kept damp when it is rotting down. I make sure I chop any hard material so that it rots easier. It rots down quicker if you turn it, but I never do! I just leave it for a year. I empty it out in the spring and spread it onto the ground where I need it.
Hilary, wrap your kitchen waste in newspaper - worms love it and it will stop the issue of waste dropping through the pallets.
All friends and neighbours know to drop off any old carpets they have because I use them on top of my pallet compost bins to weight down the waste and it also allows moisture through (am the same as James Williams - 3 bin system).