Converting a wheely bin into a composter

[Snow]

My counsil have decided that we must start paying a new tax on garden waste collection from June and at £40 I am reluctant to say the least.

If you dont want to the service to continue you can keep the wheely bin they arent provided.

So I am thinking of converting it into a composter. I want to compost garden waste, and kitchen scraps, and always have plenty of cardboard and paper.

But it would be out on the shared driveway and so it mustn't smell. It will also be in shade almost all day because it is behind the garden fence.

Can this be done? I also want to build on some kind of mechanism to turn the contents easily, like via a handle or something. It needs to be easy to manage and I understand this will greatly increase the decomposition process.

What do people think? Can it be done? Any tips?

Turning mechanism aside for a moment, I am guessing that I would cut a sealable "door" in the bottom to take compost out as well as some kind of tap to remove leachate. And I would have to install some air vents in the bottom and top. But not sure what would be optimum? I'm guessing it should be pretty rodent proof. Will flies be a problem?

[arpoet]

Firstly, i would say that unless you sign up and pay, they wont send you a bin.
Secondly, it seems a lot of faffing about when you can build a simple compost bin using old pallets.

[Alison]

I think Snow already has the bin.

A normal sized wheelie bin isn't very big so not sure it'll be much use as a compost bin and they work better when in contact with the ground so worms can get in. Perhaps it would work better as a wormery, I think people have converted bins fir that and you can buy ready made ones which look similar so must be possible

[Kristen]

I don't think a wheelie bin is large enough either ...

Council may offer subsidised price Daleks? I think that would be a better container for compost making. Easier to empty too I've never found the door-at-the-bottom actually works for getting finished compost out - but not sure about on a shared driveway. If you like that idea then maybe sell the Wheelie bin on eBay if the council have given it to you? They aren't cheap to buy new and folk do want them - if their's has been nicked etc. as council usually only pay for the first one, not any replacement.

Plan B. Do you have a use for the compost in your garden? If not, or you are not bothered, is there someone nearby who is a keen gardened and makes their own compost? If so wheel your bin round to them once a week and give them your composting material Folk in my village do that - there's a guy with a corner plot that has amazing veg growing in it and he can use all the compost he can make ... and more

[Scarlet]

I'm in the same area. The council did offer subsidised daleks and wormbins several years ago. I'm in a dilemma with what to do with mine. I compost most stuff but I find that every fornight I do fill it pruning mostly from trees - can't be bothered to get the chipper out. It's often a quick way of clearing up the stuff that takes a long time to rot down.
I think the area is going to become a tipping zone for garden waste
I'll probably be paying the £40 for the sticker to go on my bin to have it collected.

it may be worth looking into making it into a worm bin? Fit the bottom with a tap etc.

[Bren In Pots]

There's a good instructables on how to convert a bin :-

Make a Compost Bin From a Wheelie Bin

Plus some ideas here on the vine:-
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...utt_63683.html

[Kristen]

We have to pay here for a compost bin (no idea how much). Lots of houses in the village with reasonable sized gardens (not just concreted over as a car park!). On Bin Day 90% of the houses have a brown compost-bin outside ... beats me why though!

[Scarlet]

... beats me why though!

Well, most of my grape vine prunings get binned (it would easily fill half a dozen daleks) and we pruned a huge taxus out the front. I binned the thick stuff that i couldn't get through my chipper.

[Kristen]

As I compost everything I don't know the answer, but if it was only a couple of times a year I think I would go to the Dump (which would be free, apart from the effort of carting it there) rather than paying for a fortnightly collection.

The houses in the road here have their bins out every collection time, so I figure?? that they aren't composting anything (and willing to pay the annual fee).

[Scarlet]

I think it depends on what you have to compost. I have 7 compost bins (4 daleks and 3 large hexagnol) and a worm bin. I also keep chickens.
I have a mature garden with lots of trees..this stuff I find difficult to get rid off. (And very time consuming) thick branches OH chainsaws up for the fire. Sometimes it's just easier to get the bulk of the twiggy stuff (that takes a while to compost ) chopped and binned. Along with the ivy and ground elder.

[Jay-ell]

Check on getcomposting.com | Composting is not just for gardeners - it helps the environment too! to see if they have any council subsidised deals in your area.

You could use the wheelie bin as a giant bokashi bin - providing you and your neighbours don't mind the pickle smell. The bokashi can be buried or added to a compost bin or google "soil generator".

I used a wheelie bin and two water butts last year and bokashid all the perennial weeds and their roots (bindweed etc) which composted well.

[Snow]

I'm disabled so a lot of the suggested options aren't possible for me. I only have a small garden and now no trees at all, so most everything I need to get rid of should be compos table I think.
I have no space for a traditional composter in the garden (only very small) so it would have to be on the drive and can't smell.

Selling it is an idea as could buy something more suitable then but I'm guessing there will be a flood of them on the market soon.

[Kristen]

Any avid gardener local to you who would come and get,a nd empty, your wheelie bin once a week or so to put on their compost heap?

or are you surrounded by houses with similar sized small gardens?

[Jay-ell]

Any avid gardener local to you who would come and get,a nd empty, your wheelie bin once a week or so to put on their compost heap?

or are you surrounded by houses with similar sized small gardens?

If you see any of your neighbours walking towards the local allotments on a sunny morning ask them if they are interested in this.

(If you notice them walking back from the woods with a shovel on a cloudy night lock your doors and bar the windows)

[Snow]

I'm surrounded by other houses and the gardens are mostly pretty small too. I seem to be one of the only people actually using it to, you know, grow something. The neighbour to my right has no garden just paved over the lot. On the right is a rented house and there is just grass that gets minimal attention.

Having looked at the links provided, it does look like some others have converted theirs but a problem seems to be that it needs mixing. I thought that might be the case. So it might still be viable but only if i can think of an easy and effective way of turning the contents.