Geobin Compost Bin - 246 Gallon, Expandable, Easy Assembly, Made in The USA, Outdoor & Backyard Composter

This bin is a great value. It's simple, cheap, and it works. Frankly, it does not make much sense to spend over a hundred dollars for a bin, which is what most cost. The best alternative to this is to make a bin yourself out of wire fencing or hardware cloth, which I have heard works great and I almost did that myself before settling on this. This is more convenient and more attractive, which matters if (like me) you don't have any place on your property to put it out of sight. It's also only barely more expensive than the DIY version.BUT -- this particular version, from this seller (My Green Gloves Dot Com) does NOT come with the stakes that are included in the slightly more expensive version offered by multiple sellers (including Amazon itself). If you want the stakes (and I would suggest that you do), go pay a few more bucks for the other one here: Presto Products GKL0951-6 Geobin Composting System Yes, you can go buy stakes are your local hardware or garden store, but you'll spend more than the difference between these two versions.UPDATE Jan 2013: It appears that the none of the Geobins ship with stakes anymore, though some folks may be selling old stock that still comes with stakes. But there's no guarantee that you'll get stakes if you buy via the link above. Anyway, it turns out that the stakes are not all that important -- I've found that once you get the thing nice and full, it stays put pretty well on its own. Now that my first one is full, I am going to be ordering a second one.UPDATE Feb 2014: Having owned two of these bins for over a year now, in continuous use, I can add to my original review the fact that they are really quite durable. I'd had some concerns initially, but they hold up pretty well. The plastic does get strained/stretched where you fasten it together, but it doesn't tear. Whenever I turn my compost, I unwrap it and reassemble it upside down and inside out relative to how it just was. This keeps the plastic from getting stretched in the same places all the time and keeps everything in shape. I don't know if they'll last forever, but at least another couple of years, if not more.Speaking of turning, don't waste your time with those plunge-type compost turners -- they don't really do much. If you want to turn your compost, get an ensilage fork (aka "pitchfork"), unwrap the Geobin from the pile (if your compost is sufficiently moist, it will hold its shape well enough even unwrapped), set it up right next to the pile, and fork the pile into the bin in its new location. A fork works much, much better than a shovel for this job. This is great exercise! It only needs to be done a few times for each batch of compost, until it no longer heats up after turning.

I purchased my first one of these in 2018. The second in 2020. After 6 years of use they are both holding up beautifully! I do store them on the northeast side of the house where they are mostly shaded. In the fall we chip the maple leaves, combined with the last of the grass clippings, moisten the pile, and leave it. We don’t cover it. The volume is enough to get hot composting going. By the following fall, it’s broken down and ready to apply. I spread it right before the leaves drop and the bin is ready for the next batch. I’m a certified master gardener and I recommend these bins to everyone who is interested in composting. I do have a closed bin for rodent attracting veggie scraps (that I mix with sawdust), but the geobins produce the majority of my compost and in by far the easiest way. I store them on a bit of a slope, so they can end up standing a little wonky, but they compost just the same. You do need enough material in them to hold them upright.

I've had it for a year now and I can say I really like this bin. It's adjustable in size to darn MASSIVE (about 2 fifty gallon drum size) to smaller if you want. I have it set at it's largest size and with all of my household and gardening scraps (I'm a vegan), it's barely 3/4 full and I put lots in it. It's very easy to put together, the "keys" are simple yet well made. The entire bin is a nice sturdy material and should last a long time. I also like all of the aeration holes throughout, there are plenty and I notice material break down pretty quickly and the color black also brings the heat with it. I don't aerate it (from the top) hardly ever and it's still doing very well. I can scrape just below the surface, and see the "black gold" composted materials.DO KEEP IN MIND it is open and the critters have a hayday in this thing. I find avocado seeds, mango seeds, corn cobs spread all over the place sometimes. However, I don't mind them too much as its free food for them. However, I am located in a urban neighborhood and sometimes seeing my coconut shell in the front yard is pretty funny!The only con that I have is when it is set to its largest size, and NOT full, the top sides sag inward. So you may want to think about how much you will be dumping in and how often you will use it.I will be emptying it spring 2015 to spread in the garden and will update this review then.