compost question
Does anyone know where one can buy compost bins other than through city composting programs or online? The reason I ask is because mine is filling up (rather quickly!) and I know that the best way to get good finished compost from it is to stop adding new stuff and let what's in there break down. In the meantime I do NOT want to stop composting the new food scraps and yard waste we are generating. So I need a second bin. I'd really like to get one of the same bin I already have - it's a Smith & Hawken Biostack and it is really awesome. It's a stackable so I figure if I get another of the same model I can, if I ever need to, stack them on top of each other (i.e. once the current compost shrinks down to only 2 layers, make one 2-layer bin and one 4-layer bin. or even make 3 2-layer bins in varying states of decomposition if I have to). I bought the bin I have now from my city's solid waste and recycling program for the subsidized price of $28 after taking their composting class - they cost $99 new. I asked if they would sell me another and they said it is one per HOUSEHOLD so I can't even just get one of my roomates to take the class and get one for me. I can understand why they wouldn't be able to subsidize multiple bins per household, but I would be happy to pay them full-price for it. I guess they have a limited number of them. What I DON'T want to do is buy it through Amazon like I linked to and pay $40 shipping. That seems like a lot. I checked and none of the home-and-garden stores even SELL compost bins, which seems totally stupid to me. Not Home Depot, not Lowes, not OSH. Does anyone know what sort of place I might find compost bins for sale at so that I don't have to pay such ridiculous shipping charges? The city waste people didn't know - I think they must have ordered theirs in bulk directly from Smith & Hawken.
Unrelatedly, I posted a long post on csa_cooking with a request for advice and I haven't gotten any comments. If any of you who have CSAs want to go comment there I would appreciate it.
update 15:49 - success!! The Smith & Hawken store in Burlingame actually sells them and has them in stock! Wheee! It's a little far from me (there are like 2 S&H stores closer to me and half a dozen "authorized dealers" but those ones don't stock it) but yay I found one! I win! But, oh, S&H sells to many pretty things... must resist the comsumerism!
Incidentally, I did check my local free-cycle and found that while they do pop up occasionally they get snapped up in a flash. I'm not gonna feel too guilty about buying one new since it will increase the amount of composting going on in the world and it IS made of 60% recycled plastic.
Unrelatedly, I posted a long post on csa_cooking with a request for advice and I haven't gotten any comments. If any of you who have CSAs want to go comment there I would appreciate it.
update 15:49 - success!! The Smith & Hawken store in Burlingame actually sells them and has them in stock! Wheee! It's a little far from me (there are like 2 S&H stores closer to me and half a dozen "authorized dealers" but those ones don't stock it) but yay I found one! I win! But, oh, S&H sells to many pretty things... must resist the comsumerism!
Incidentally, I did check my local free-cycle and found that while they do pop up occasionally they get snapped up in a flash. I'm not gonna feel too guilty about buying one new since it will increase the amount of composting going on in the world and it IS made of 60% recycled plastic.