Topic: A new type of composting?

[Georgie]

Hello everyone.  Wasn't sure where to post this so apologies if I'm on the wrong forum. 

I've just spotted on another gardening baord a reference to 'the green cone'.  It's a new one on me but it certainly looks interesting.  Has anyone tried it and if so - how well does it work? 

Here's the site: 

http://www.greencone.com/home.asp?lang=1

G xx

[wardy]

Georgie   There's a thread on this forum on green cones (I started it but not sure what bit's it in)  Check it out as one person has one (free from her council)

Wardy

[Georgie]

Hi Wardy.  I tried the search facility and nothing came up apart from this thread.   :(

G xx

[Svea]

there you go:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,7880.0.html

:)

[Georgie]

Thanks Svea!   ;D

It still seems no-one has any experience of using them mind, which I find odd.

G  x

[wardy]

It's in Basics started about 20th March so have a look.  I just found it :)   Green cones aren't new - I think they've been around for yonks.  I've never seen one though

[Garden Manager]

Isnt the 'green cone' just a type of compost bin? It looks like the three i use for my composting!  ???

Nothing special or new about it then.  ::)

[SpeedyMango]

According to the website it's not a compost bin as we know it, as it will 'digest' meat and other kitchen scraps. They've got a 'how it works' diagram, that looks interesting, although it seems that the waste is digested and absorbed into the soil under the cone, not transformed into compost for spreading about. Could be wrong though:

[Georgie]

Yes, that's right.  But just think - at last a way to dispose of cooked foods and even pet poo safely and in an environmentally friendly way.  No more smelly bins and less landfill.  Apart from the price and the space they take up, I think there are lot of advantages.  If they work.  Which is why I'm desperately hoping to find someone who can report their effectiveness.

G xx

[Georgie]

Whilst waiting for someone to say that green cones are brill/a waste of money, I emailed my council asking them to consider offering a discount.  Thought you might be interested in their response.  It's not entirely discouraging but I won't hold my Breath!   ;)

G xx

Thank you for your message suggesting we supply green cones to residents
for composting organic waste (including cooked waste).

At present the Council is half-way through a three-year partnership with
the national Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to promote home
composting.  The agreement includes supply of subsidised bins by WRAP, the
services of a home composting adviser, and promotions (press/bus stop
advertising, leaflets and newsletters) all at no cost to the Council.

To date we have offered conventional compost bins (300 litre with lid,
hatch and base), and this year the offer is extended to a 600 litre bin and
a free kitchen caddy with every order.  Green cones, as you say, have the
advantage of dealing with cooked waste, and (where residents have small
gardens with no application for home-made compost) reducing organic
material to carbon dioxide and water.

I have therefore suggested green cones to WRAP for consideration in the
future.  However it has to be borne in mind that not only are they more
expensive, but also can be more difficult to install and operate
successfully, eg siting in a warm position is best, and the 'cage' part
must be set into the soil.  Further support would therefore be needed to
assist residents with using them successfully.

Thank you for your interest in reducing waste in Enfield, and please
contact me if you have further queries.

Regards

Mary Blake
Waste Prevention Officer
Waste Services
London Borough of Enfield

[Jesse]

We got a green cone bin for free from our council. They were advertised at the local garden centres here, you phone a number and they send you a voucher, then you take the voucher and proof of address and id to the garden centre and get one for free. I haven't installed it yet to use as it should be, only been using parts of it as a conventional composter but I do plan to dig a hole and use it properly. We collected it in winter when the ground was too frozen to dig. Sounds like a good idea, less rubbish for the landfill.

[Justy]

never heard of this before read the thread today just after looking at ebay where i saw this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20540&item=4378453037&rd=1

[Georgie]

E-bay?  Yikes, too scary for me but I hope whoever gets it reports  back here on whether it works!!!

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

G xx

[return of the mac]

My council offer them for a tenner but i cant get one as i dont have the space at home and my allotment is too far to take kitchen scraps :(

[westsussexlottie]

It is really good - we have one - free from our council and have put it in the allotment. It takes all food scraps including fish and meat- and you get a container for the kitchen to store the scraps in too.

Any particular questions you want to ask about the green cone please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

[img]http://img7.echo.cx/my.php?image=image166small3sp.jpg/[img]

[Georgie]

At last!   ;D

No questions, really, just wanted to see if the concensus is that they work.  I only have a very small garden so giving up any planting space is painful, but I can see how valuable green bins are for the environment.  My one darlek bin provides all the compost I need, so composting the other stuff underground strikes me as well worth while.

Return of the mac. You don't fancy getting one anyway do you then letting me take it off your hands?   ;)

G xx

[westsussexlottie]

Georgie, The only thing I would say about it - is that the "net" basket section goes pretty deep underground. Our soil is sandy so it wasn't too hard to dig - but if you have a clay soil - good luck!
It doesn't look too pretty either but I am amazed at how much I am putting in it on a twice weekly basis. We put all our scraps including cooked food and chicken carcasses in it as well as eggshells.
It hasn't been in long enough to say whether it has a really positive effect on the soil around it - but I don't think it would have a negative effect!
We too have a small garden - but I chose to put our cone in the allotment.

[Georgie]

Oh heck, that may well be a problem then.   >:(  Although I have a wonderful 18" or so of topsoil (after many years of organic soil improvement) I am gardening on London clay.  How deep does the hole have to be?

G xx

[westsussexlottie]

Roughly 2 feet deep and 3 feet diameter circle shape...!

[Georgie]

Oh, I think I could manage that.   :)  Might even be brave an put in a bid on e-bay!   :o :o :o

G xx