How Big Should the Composter Be?
This will depend on the amount of material to be processed and the amount of room available to site a composter. With an average City lot, most of which is given over to turf, one to two holding type bins, each capable of enclosing a cubic metre in volume, should be adequate. Larger yards may require a turning type composting system. There is a very significant volume shrinkage to waste materials as they are composted. Finished compost will only occupy from 10% to 40% of the original waste volume. There are a number of methods that can be utilized to take advantage of the volume shrinkage inherent in aerobic composting and maximize the volume available in a small composter unit. Grass clippings can be left on the lawn every few cuttings or used as a mulch, for example. If the composter is filled during periods of fast grass growth, some of the overflow clippings can be stored in sealed plastic bags and added to the unit after the initial volume shrinkage occurs. The continual feeding o
