Cohousing-L Mailing List: A composting program at a LARGE cohousing -- How??

[Maggie Lee (maggie.a.lee]

Dear friends, we at East Lake Commons in Atlanta want to improve a program
to get rid of our vegetable scraps.

We want to know how others have succeeded.

We are 78 households, of course with varying degrees of community
involvement & large-community issues of trying to attract regular, committed
labor.

Currently, we do "cold" compost only -- ie, alternate veg scraps & brown
leaves in large wire bins.  When one bin gets full, it is closed for a month
or so to rot while we fill another bin.  We don't turn the piles to make
proper hot compost.

Disadvantages: "cold" composting/anaerobic breakdown = stench, rats, flies.
Advantages:  Simple, not labor intensive, can absorb A_LOT of veg scrap.

Our main goal has been defined as keeping veg scraps out of landfill.
Compost would only be a bonus.

We need something
1. simple
2. pest & stink free
3. that can accommodate up to 10 lbs of veg scrap a day, more if we can get
all 78 households to contribute.
4. that up to 78 households would be willing to do.
5. cheap.  We're pretty much ruling out major capital costs like mega
barrels or tumblers.

If you have any suggestions that answer any of this criteria, please let me
know!

(Also, how to deter people from putting in their spagetti & meatballs; fish
scales, etc??   Just keep hammering with the education?)

Thanks to all!

-Maggie Lee