Background
Standard advice for composting is to restrict yourself to prunings and vegetable peelings, avoiding cooked food and especially meat and dairy. Since meat, dairy and any cooked foods compost really well, the reason for this advice is largely to reduce the bin’s attractiveness to rats.
Solutions: Retro-fit Steel Collars and New Slatted Bins
We have trialled two rat-proof composting approaches so that a wider range of materials can be home composted.
The first is a steel collar which goes around the base of a standard ‘Dalek’ style compost bin. The second is a new slatted bin made of tough uPVC (sadly no longr available.)
In each case the bin must be placed on hard standing (concrete, slabs, bricks, blocks, paviours or Tarmac) to prevent burrowing by rats.
We wished to determine if our two designs were truly rat-proof thereby enabling people to comfortably put a wider range of material into their bins and reduce waste.
The Results
With over 40 installations – some of which have been in place for nearly four years – the trials have been a success; none of the bins have been invaded by rats.
If you’re interested in taking part let us know!
Cost
The steel collars are manufactured by a commercial company. Stock is purchased from this company and subsequently supplied – at cost – to project participants via Transition.
Collars: We currently have stock. Prices, based on existing supplier purchases, are £49 for each collar.
Slatted Bins: We currently have no stock. Unfortunately the manufacturer – which may be the only organisation making the flat piling that we use for the bin’s construction – has ceased manufacture of that component. We are exploring other options and other broadly similar designs. There is currently no ETA.
How to Participate
The project is no longer in trial mode.
We have proven solutions if you have an existing rat problem. Similarly, if you wish to compost a broader range of materials without subsequently suffering from rats, our solutions will support that change.
We have found that it is best if we make a quick site visit before any purchase and installation. However, we now have installations in Winchester, Alresford, Oxford and Hastings and beyond where no site visits were made beforehand. We can discuss delivery costs as appropriate.
Rat-proof collar delivery beyond reasonable travelling distance is made by carrier at recipient’s expense. We would love to have another group collaborate on this project to spread the concept more widely – we can provide details of supplier and the design. More volume might bring the price down, bringing the collars within reach of a wider group of people.
Contact us using this form if you are interested in participating in any way.
Thank you.
PS If you have requested information about this project, and haven’t received a reply, please look in your SPAM folder, just in case your email system has put our email in your SPAM folder. It has happened before. Thanks.