Discussions

I tried composting with these buckets at first according to the rules with a good amount of coffee grounds, veggie & fruit peelings, yard leaves and shredded paper (1/2 brown - 1/2 green recommended mixture) with the pail being under the sink, covered of course, checking here and there and flipping it. 2 weeks later...whoo-wee-mama! A nasty sight, indeed. Not cool to have mould growing in that bucket.  
 
The problem for me is that I cannot bear for this pail to be right on my counter. Space is dicey under the sink.  
 
If I'm not mistaken, aeration is key for composting as organisms need air to survive.  
 
Maybe I killed all the little old organisms by putting the lid on it - the one that came with it. At 40 below in a common space of the house, it just made sense to me to have it nearby, or maybe I should have put it outside in the snow? NOT.  
 
I understand the concept of larger composting in an open wooden slat or wire bin outside in the yard, and turning it with a pitchfork from time to time, but haven't put that in place in our yard layout. These pails, albeit the City trying to get people to compost, baffle me.  
 
The little pamphlet in the pail states:  
 
"A bin should be between 3'0" x 3'0" x 3'0" and 5'0" x 5'0" x 5'0". A bin that is too small cannot retain enough heat and if a bin is too large it won't get enough air."  
 
As much as I would like to compost and will with a backyard bin, I don't get these little lidded buckets about 7"d x 7"w x 10"d and seriously wonder how many peeps use them for composting, so it's interesting to see what everyone is in reality doing with them.