Deciding whether to use a compost bin, or compost pile
A Washington Post article talks about using a compost bin to make compost.
Just as there are many approaches to compost making, there are many types of compost container. If there is one rule about composting, it is that some sort of enclosure or bin is better than a loose pile: The bin will hold more material more neatly, giving the pile the mass it needs to heat up and to declare to the world that this is something purposeful and not a dumping ground.
Even so, the sight of a compost bin can unnerve your neighbors, who fear it may smell and attract vermin. Compost piles can do both, but a well-designed bin will keep out animals and, managed correctly, have no odor save a faint earthy aroma.
Compost bins fall into two basic areas: ready-made bins, usually of plastic and limited in size; and homemade versions that range from enclosures of humble snow fencing or poultry wire to formidable side-by-side, wood-framed bins that connote a gardener suffering from compost mania. The homemade versions look more natural to some, though others see them as scruffier than commercial versions and potentially more offensive to neighbors.
The article mentions a $400 compost tumbler as if it is the only tumbler alternative. However, there are several compost tumbler models to choose from that are under $200.
