There’s one question that I receive nearly every time that I mention being a home composter: What kind of compost bin do you use/ recommend? There are many options out there, and it can be overwhelming if you are just getting started. We polled Hamilton County employees to see what bins each person used, and to learn their favorite and least favorite things about them.
Michelle’s Soil
Saver Bin
Michelle started using her bin in 2007!
Challenges: "The biggest challenge is that I only have one, so I use one of my other compost bins for food scraps when this one is full to give it time to decompose. I would highly recommend anyone using a compost bin like this to purchase two. It also doesn't hold all my leaves, but I have multiple other bins for that purpose."
Angie’s Tumbler
Her favorite thing about it: "I love that one section
allows me to keep fresh food scraps separate, while the other holds the
finished compost I plan to use in my garden after Mother's Day. I also
appreciate being able to turn it around easily, without needing extra tools to
move the compost. Lastly, I really like that I can move it to different
locations without much trouble.”
Challenges: “The only thing I dislike is that during winter,
I had a lot of trouble opening the top because the lid froze and was difficult
to detach.”
Sam’s Terracotta
Pots
Her favorite thing about it: “I love showing off my terracotta
compost pots when I have friends over, because they show people that composting has more options than just a black, plastic bin. My food scraps break down quickly,
and the only smells that come out smell mulchy and fresh when I’m turning my
compost.”
Challenges: “With this system, it’s recommended to use cocopeat as your brown material to help with space and moisture levels. If you use a lot of food scraps, purchasing cocopeat can add up, versus getting to use backyard leaves for most other bins." (Note: I’ve substituted leaves in my terracotta pots before, and it does work, but it slows down the composting. I have to watch to ensure my compost doesn’t get too wet since I can’t fit a lot of leaves in to help balance the moisture of my food scraps.)
Cher’s Earth
Machine
Her favorite thing about it: “They have lasted 20
years, they keep my dogs and vermin out without any problems. I do not have any
odors even though I don’t always do a good job of covering up food scraps with
carbon rich material.”
Challenges: “The new bins need to be put together. If the plastic is cold, it can be difficult to manipulate the plastic to put together. The solution is to let it sit out in the sun or warm it up with a hairdryer.”
Her favorite thing about it: “I love that
I could still compost my food scraps when I was in an apartment, and still now
because I have very limited outdoor space. I just take my food scraps to a drop-off site hosted by Queen City
Commons, and they do the rest of the composting for me.”
Challenges: “Because I don’t have on site composting,
getting my bins to the drop-off can be annoying and stinky! I’ve repurposed
kitty litter bins for collection, and the nice lid and handle makes it much
better.”
This is not an exhaustive list of options, as there are more
bin varieties, backyard piles, or collection opportunities to investigate. Every
person should pick an option that works best for them and fits into their
lifestyle, taking into account the time they have, the space, whether animals
may be a concern, convenience, and many other variables. Have a favorite type
of compost bin or a creative way that you compost at home? Let us know!
Compost Blogger: Sam Plante
I have used the closed system for at least 5 years. No problems with animals. I use 2, since I have lots of scraps. Then I put on my raised bed gardens. I sometimes have to add water and some fertizlier to heat it. up.
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