As outsiders getting introduced to the world of composting it has been interesting to work with different forms of composting bins. We have recently arrived in Sydney, Australia, and are studying at universities here and interning with Sustainable House.

As beginner composters we thought it may interest others beginning to garden and compost to know our first impressions of some of the 16 different compost bin designs in the footpath gardens of Chippendale used by an estimated 50 or more local residents and businesses.

The bins are handling 300 to 400 kg of food waste each week - and those bins need our intern attention! As do the 1,000 plants, herbs and edible fruit trees also need the free fertilising compost we harvest.

We have noticed some are easier to work with than others and wanted to share our comparisons.

Large Raised Rotating Single Bin

***• 120 litre rotating bin (and Lauren)***

We found this style of bin the hardest to work with and least effective at composting.

The barrel has lids on each end that pop open when too much weight is put on them which prevents us from putting enough dirt and worms in the bin for it to effectively break down food waste and make compost. In addition, to mix the contents of the bin the entire barrel needs to be rotated a few times which is extremely difficult due to the heavy weight. Finally, we noticed it was difficult to get the contents out of the bin due to its depth.

Large Static Single Bin

***• 250 litre static bin with access hatch at base of bin; note bin rests on metal shelves installed by Chippendale gardeners to exclude rats***

We found this style bin hard to work with but effective at composting.

The height and depth of the cube made it hard to effectively mix in food waste; we had a lot of trouble getting the auger out when auguring vertically. The cube also has a side panel towards the bottom that comes off. This gave us the option to auger horizontally but that felt awkward and made a mess. On the other hand, the height and depth of this style bin allowed for a lot of food waste, compost and worms which provided the best quantity of compost.

Coolseat

We found the coolseat easiest to work with and the best option for managing the quality of the compost.

Due to the coolseats' short height and shallower bins, it was much easier to auger. In addition, the short height and shallower bins allowed us to better see what was in the bins. This was an unbelievably valuable feature because we were able to tell when a bin was too wet, too dry, needed mixing, etc., and improve the quality of the compost. For example, there was one bin that had a lot of citruses which was causing it to be too wet. We removed some citrus from that bin and added in dry fallen leaves and shredded paper. We were then able to transplant the citrus into a bin that was too dry, so both bins could produce higher-quality compost!

In conclusion, we think the design of the coolseat is an innovative solution to the troublesome, inadequate compost bins we have previously seen on the market.

by

Lauren Ryan and Peyton Lieser