Green Cones?

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Green Cones?
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tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 4:44 pm Post subject:
A link or photo would be handy.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 4:54 pm Post subject:
Would it now? What did your last slave die of, RSI? https://www.greencone.co.uk/home.asp?lang=1

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28237
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 4:55 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

You mean one of those that look like a conical dustbin? No way I wouldn't put bones or animal waste in there, we've got one and it's difficult to get it composting nicely. In general though we'll add any paper, and cooked waste veggies, pasta etc.

Glad to see we are not the only ones who struggle with our composter.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 4:57 pm Post subject:
Blimey that's right fandangled that one, it looks worth a try. Have your local council got a deal with them? If they have it'll be dirt cheap to buy through them.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 5:49 pm Post subject:
Looks like only one council is doing them at the moment, but in theory, even in a small garden one of those (maybe by the fruit trees??) plus a 'normal' composter to give stuff to dig back in would be really quite manageable and go a long way to reducing the bin bag talley each week

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 5:53 pm Post subject:
They're �45 at my friend's council and "�0 until midnight tonight" at another, unfortunately I don't think would be able to get hold of them before then! How ethical is it to use someone else's council tax to finance one's own cheap composter. Not very, I suspect

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 5:57 pm Post subject:
�45 isn't bad if they work

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 6:08 pm Post subject:
I had 2 of these but didnt know til reading that link I could have put all that stuff in there!! I now use them upside down for growing tatties in I found them awkward to empty out and turn over when using them to make compost

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 8:21 pm Post subject:
I thought these ones you specifically didnt turn over- because of the basket bit underneath they just leach nutrients into the soil. (I have a Dalek shaped composter too- I wonder if thats what you're growing your tatties in??) These are a bit different apparently and rely on the appliance of science to deal with the more noxious waste.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 8:23 pm Post subject:
I think I read somewhere that you can empty them about every two years (which you'd want, at least, if you have to dig the whole critter up). It sounds like a great idea though, and if they really don't smell, surely every home/street/etc should have one? Little bit concerned about the leaching stuff though.

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 8:35 pm Post subject:

Yes they do tend to go down quickly,I had mine in between two miniarette trees and they did ok

As I said though I never realised they were 'posh composters' lol I used them as a normal compost bin so thats why I turned them

don't I feel silly now!! Mine also had a black liner inside the green outer shell kind os like a double skin,both these are stood upside down on the patio ( as they have no bottoms..)with my first earlies in

The basket was lined with a black bin bag or two and held my strawberries nicely last year

The other one is currently holding onto my twiggy bits of waste ready for the gardening collections to start in a week or so..

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 8:39 pm Post subject:
Well, now you know what a green goldmine you're sitting on, do you think they're in a state to reclaim post-spuds? Then you can be our pioneer researcher in this matter I feel there may be an article in it, too... In fact it would be rather interesting to see pics of people's composters, and compost. Is that terribly, terribly, heartbreakingly sad?

Deedee

Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 05 8:46 pm Post subject:

David'll love you Bugs..to dig the hole for these on our soil takes a pickaxe and about a day !! (builders rubble etc) I currently have two normal compost bins in the place these stood and haven't got a bit of space to put them in yet while the gardens being levelled BUT I will get him to dig them into one end of my potato bed after my other spuds in there come out and keep you posted!*shuffles off to make his nibs a cup of tea and grovel nicely

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 05 5:35 pm Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

In fact it would be rather interesting to see pics of people's composters, and compost. Is that terribly, terribly, heartbreakingly sad?

(Bugs you make me feel quite good about myself - thank you. )

I just started to answer someone's simple enquiry about the Green Cone on another discussion group and suddenly realised how much I was rabbiting on. I love the subject of compost.

I need help.

tawny owl

Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 05 7:38 pm Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

Thing is, did yours come labelled as a green cone? They are a fairly different shape to a compost bin (compost bins more dalek shaped, green cone, well, cone shaped). They certainly do claim to be able to compost stuff that normal composters don't. Don't fancy it myself but would love to know if it works - never even seen a review of one.

What I was thinking too. There are cone-shaped 'normal' composters, but the Greencone is the one with the basket that gets rid of cooked food etc that you can't put in a normal bin or you end up with a stinky, rat-infested mess. In addition, you can't use the Greencone as a normal compost bin as well - it's only meant to be used for food waste, not garden waste.

Tootling quickly through Google, I noticed that quite a number of councils are offering them cheap, or even free in some cases. The Green Cone site has a postcode checker. Also in Telford, they compared different sorts of composting https://www.telford.gov.uk/Environment/Recycling/Wormtrial.htm). Quite interesting, although on my browser I was getting question marks in places (percentages?) so wasn't as informative as possibly intended! Found a a couple of other interesting sites: https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/acc_data/service/ep_homecompost.asp and https://www.fredshed.co.uk/greenproducts.htm

There are a few threads on the Allotments4All site (search for "green cone"); most of them seem pretty positive about it.

For dog owners, there's also a similar thing called a Dog Loo (https://www.armitages.co.uk/dogs3.htm) (no, you don't squat them over it - you collect the poo up and drop it in the bin), but can only be used for dog - cat poo is too full of protein to degrade properly, while of course any veggie-eating animal can have their waste put into a normal compost bin.

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