Reviewing products online is big. Sites like the tuneful ‘Go Compare’ are appearing daily but reading reviews of compost bins for sale can be either a) useless, b) revealing, or occasionally c) actually helpful. We look at some of the compost bins for sale and how to evaluate them.

Composting isn’t a quick matter, it takes time even if claims of ‘compost in two weeks!’ are lived up to, which is rare, so when the vendor asks for a review immediately after the sale it’s unsurprising he gets the reply: ‘Arrived promptly’ and ‘fitted together with a bit of brute force’. Fairly useless.

The revealing replies are those that say I’ve had this Dalek/wooden bin etc for a year and it isn’t working. Revealing because the Dalek itself doesn’t actually do anything, no extermination, it just sits there. The success of the composting is down to with what it has been loaded, and how. Simple as.

Some of the composters on the market do ‘do’ something, or at least claim to, and although the operator still plays a significant part, the success of the bin itself can be gauged.

Bins that fall into this category are tumblers, in-vessel digesters, thermo-insulated, closed bins such as the Green Johanna, wormeries, Bokashi bins and the mysterious Aerobin. Some bods have spent years thinking about what composting is and how to ‘improve’ it, patenting their product and selling it. So how can these more expensive composters help you and are they worth the extra money?

The most expensive bins on the market are tumblers and at the very top end, twin tumblers. A tumbler is a drama which is loaded with waste material, sealed and turned every few days by Handel. The whole idea is that turning to be made easy. Turning introduces air into the compost which should help heat it up and more heat means compost is made faster. The twin is the second tumbler so that one can be loaded while the other processes. Being sealed means the moisture stays in and no unwanted pests can enter (not that they’d want to make their home in a washing machine!). It can be effective and make speedy compost but it has to be loaded with the right balance of materials or can easily become too wet and turned anaerobic, the very problem turning is supposed to solve.

The Aerobin is a recent introduction to the European market and its patented lung is also designed to introduce a. It’s another closed system (and is nicely made) so safe if you have pets or children around. More claims of heat and speed pepper the Aerobin’s marketing material with its insulated sides and air tube. The Eden Project in Dorset are being trialled it for a couple of years which is encouraging although they also sell it, taking the edge off their impartiality.

It was initially trialled in Australia and consistently outperformed several competitors. So if you are keen to make compost that bit more quickly it could be worth the money.

The next pricey but innovative compost is the NatureMill, so we knew it has yet to find a distributor in the UK. This clever little machine can go in your kitchen and compost all the materials you are advised not to put in a compost bin such as meat, dairy and grains. It even produces compost in a couple of weeks (really does) and a little light comes on to tell you when it’s ready. Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is it can compost your kitty litter! How can this miracle be? It has help in the form of electricity to grind the incoming waste and to raise the temperature. It needs only 5 kWh, the same as the fridge light, to run but using energy to compost does seem counter-green. Offset the energy used against the collection truck and artificial fertilisers and it’s a no-brainer. For apartment dwelling greens with cats this is truly a miracle!

Coming down the price scale are wormeries and Bokashi bins. Wormeries are not for the squeamish it goes without saying that can perform some cunning stunts in the compost apartment. They like cooked food scraps, coffee grounds and can even be tempted by dog poo. They produce compost very slowly but they also supply a very powerful liquid feed. This combination of qualities makes them best suited to those with restricted outside space, in no need of large quantities of compost but maybe with a few houseplants to feed. Bokashi are for food scraps, like wormeries, but you will need somewhere to put the partly composted (fermented) waste so it can be finished off.

There are many cheaper compost is on the market and if you know a little bit about the process of composting you are in a much better position to choose the right one for you. For more information on how to weigh up the pros and cons of different composting systems see the articles below or subscribe to the FREE MINI COURSE.

Would Bokashi Suit You?
Best New Designs in Compost Bins
Insider Information on Small Composters For Inside Spaces
Why Do Some Like It Hot?

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