link again

Here is a link that might be useful: water butts price UK

Wow, what a difference!
I can't answer your question but I too have wondered why they are so expensive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

No kidding. I priced a water barrel from the city and they were asking $150.00 each. $80.00 for a composter.

I was so disgusted I could have spit nails.

Probably the costs of the lawsuit-happy American legal system.

In a place where theoretically competent adults cannot be expected to be responsible for knowing that coffee is hot, ...

Check with your city. The city I'm in sells the composters in the spring for $40 each. The rain barrels (I think that's what you mean by water butts) are $90. But they only sell them for one day and they go fast.

iam3killerbs, the case you allude to is a bad example of your point I think. There is a lot of history with that particular judge and McDonalds coffee temps that were insanely hot. He was trying to punish the multinational franchise because he was tired of seeing cases like this in his court over and over again. He let McDonalds off the hook several times before and they never changed. So, he punished them the only way that he could, with a costly judgment. Now they don't have insanely hot coffee. Not quite so crazy as without the background.

Anyway, my guess on the cost of rain barrels and composters in the US. Is that the markets for them are not sufficiently large enough to trigger the competitive pricing that you expect in capitalist market. Just about everyone in my neighborhood gardens, but I have yet to meet another person that composts as we do. Folks aren't as keen on it.

I think with composters it might be as simple as a low cost competitor entering the market to change that. It almost seems like all the composter companies are in collusion to keep the prices high. Once a year you can usually find the SoilSaver composters at reasonable prices ($50) via one of the big box places (like Costco or Sam's Club) around the beginning of spring.

I can also find rain barrels on Craig's List for $45 frequently. I made my own from 55 gal food grade HDPE barrels, which you can also find on Craig's List cheaply.

Good Luck!

You may be right about the demand factor to some extend, but legal insanity and the possibility of frivolous lawsuits affects the price of many products.

The case I referenced is the perfect example. Coffee is made with boiling water. Anyone over 8-10yo and in possession of an IQ above room temperature should thus be responsible for realizing that any given cup of coffee may be as hot as 212F/100C and taking appropriate caution in the treatment of said coffee. That case ought to have been laughed out of court.

The necessary insurance to protect the manufacturer of a compost bin from lawsuits by people whose kids got worms when they composted dog poop despite instructions not to do that or the manufacturer of a rain barrel from lawsuits from people who got sick drinking the irrigation water are bound to add to the cost of the products in a legal environment where people cannot be held responsible for exercising simple common sense about the use and misuse of the products they buy. :-)

Another possible factor is the upscale coolness of "green" that makes it possible for well-marketed garden centers to sell the same items the farm supply store sells for considerably higher prices.

I bought my tomato stakes this year in the home center's lumber department where, as furring strips, they were less than $1 each. The precise same pieces of wood in the garden center right next to the tomatoes are 4 times the price. LOL

Hey there, I was just lurking and the term "water butts" caught my eye so I decided to see what it was all about. I don't have a rain barrel but last year they were available for free, at some point in the summer, in this area.

jude

I want a rain barrel. Does it aggravate mosquito issues? I researched a little and see that they are screened at the entrance for the H2O, but can't the skeeters get in there?

Also, were the comparisons show for equivalent sizes? We tend to do things "big" in the USA. Seems our rain barrels are generally >100 litres

I can't have a rain barrel. Here in Colorado they are illegal except under certain very specific circumstances (depending on your legal water rights).

Rubbermaid used to make a nice composter that was not too expensive, but for some reason they don't seem to make it any more.

Storage costs money and demand still lags unless you want a "used plastic pickel barrel" type rain barrell.

Most stores don't have the space to tuck away 10-100 of these and shift them out at a few bucks above profit.

I agree with the_gurgler about demand being the reason for a higher price.

jnfr Wow, what an idiotic law. I would certainly break it if I lived in Colorado and I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty.

My rain collection system consists of several 20 gallon plastic bins that collect runoff from the garage roof. After a good rain I just cover them to exclude mosquitoes. It's primative but cost less than $30.

Jon

Heather,
Rain barrels (aka water butts) are not necessarily expensive. If you are willing to "dip and carry" any fast food restaurant, car wash, or water treatment plant has large 55 gal. plastic barrels for free or cheap. If you can't find those, big plastic garbage cans also work. Just put whatever you are collecting water in on a level surface.
Compost can be a pile on the ground--no barrel, turning mechanism or fancy "compost starter" needed. We have two bins made of recycled privacy fence--one is active where I put garden thinnings, kitchen scraps and grass clippings, and the other is ready to sift and use. The only reason we have two open bins is that we had the fencing and wanted to use it.
Mosquitoes are not a problem if you put 1/4 of a mosquito dunk doughnut (available at hardware and big box stores) in the barrel.
If you want to see our rain collection system (simple, cheap, and effective) visit us at our Red Gate Farm website www.rgf-tx.com and do not fear, we are not selling anything!

Try craigslist in your area for olive barrels or rain barrels. You should find food grade empty barrels for under $30 and put in a spigot and an overflow.

Hardware cloth compost bin $12.

"jnfr">
I can't have a rain barrel. Here in Colorado they are illegal except under certain very specific circumstances (depending on your legal water rights).
Rubbermaid used to make a nice composter that was not too expensive, but for some reason they don't seem to make it any more.

I used to have a rain barrel in Aurora, CO when I lived there. I heard of the law that against collecting but didn't think that anyone would ever do anything about me having one.

I just found a place where I got 2 330 gallon ones delivered to me for $200 so I'll be collecting rain here again in Georgia too. :)

Why on earth is collecting rainwater illegal in Colorado?

Read all about it in the linked NPR article. Sounds crazy to me. Apparently it is also illegal to use graywater in California. Good Grief.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water Wars

ditnc,
I used to live in Colorado. It has some very complex and convoluted water laws. My understanding is that the rainwater if left alone would otherwise percolate into groundwater and find its way back into the river-systems, so by capturing it one is considered to be depriving people downstream of their rightfull allocation. It is actually considered stealing water (!), apparently, although I never heard of anyone being prosecuted for having a small rain barrel at home.

Seems strange to us here in Aus, where big rainwater tanks are quite common but most of the cities are on or near the coast, so there's really no one downstream anyway.

BTW, a possible source for a cheaper rain barrel is food importers. I have a 150 litre barrel I use for grey-water which was used to import olives from Greece. As long as the container is food grade plastic it's fine for water collection. I bought mine on eBay from a guy who converts them by putting in a brass garden tap at the bottom.
You want to be careful what you buy wasn't used to import some toxic chemical, though, or wash it thoroughly!

g'day ausburch! Yeah, I don't want to mess with installing a spigot, etc. I want a 'ready to use' model (which preferably would come with an installer - I understand you connect them to the gutter downspouts). I will check out ebay. I will also check with my homeowners association (HOA) - I just have a feeling....since I have not seen anyone else have a rain barrel around here. I also have too many mosquitos already so need to do some research on that. Seems like a great way to save H2O though. It has never occurred to me that anyone would feel deprived of their right to the downstream water output. Wow, apparently this a big issue in some places.

A screen at the entrance of your water collection barrel helps a lot for mosquitoes. There's also very cheap "mosquito dunks" you can float on your water if it's an issue. I believe the dunks are just BT-based and are relatively cheap if you shop around.

Hi ditnc,

Mosquitos shouldn't be a problem for a rain barrel as long as you have a screen over the intake area and there isn't any other way for the mosquitos to get in. Below is an interesting link (which I found someplace on gardenweb) that has a lot of interesting info on mosquitos and preventing them.

http://mosquitosafari.tamu.edu/

When I was in Colorado, there were a few years where there wasn't as much snow as normal (el nino?). Water rights was a really big deal for the states downstream.

For example, the Colorado river goes southwest through a lot of dry areas (Arizona, Nevada, California) which really depend on the water.

wow thanks, I am investigating a few of the suggestions, I think the answers about price would seem likely, and one I would add, which has possably kept the price down in the UK, is all councils (I say all! all those, I and my family have lived under!) supply them really cheaply, and one place I lived gave any household that wanted them, 1 of each for free, on the proviso that, they where left at the property when you moved, which we did.
I have made a very rickety compost heap! out of some pallets I found in the wood behind our house, and when I say rickety I mean it!! husband just didn't seem to be getting round to do it, so I have used some string the hold 3 sides and bungy ropes for the 4th side! we will see how long it lasts??? but DH has "promised" that now he understands what I wanted him to do, he will secure it better??? that was 4 weeks ago! I am trawling the woods for more pallets to make a second bin, I have found 2...so only 1 more to go! (I don't do power tools! very dyspraxic, I have scars all over me, from being a clumsy idiot!)
oh! and Water Butts!! realised my mistake! whoops! some people must have thought I was on about a medical condition!
my neighbour nearly died laughing, when I was moaning today about the cost! what did I say? then she told me. V embaressed!
again thanks

what are the water butts for? catching and reusing rain water?

Heather, one answer to insane prices is the Frugal Forum. Have a look. Insane prices make people inventive and resourceful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Frugal Forum

Heather,
Using pallets for compost bins is sheer genius! If you want to make them sturdier, you could get T posts (green metal posts with an arrow thing near the bottom--most hardware or big box stores have them, or your local feed store)and drive the T posts into the ground at the corners, then attach the pallets with wire or big U staples (available at the same sources mentioned). No tools needed except a hammer or mallet.
I don't understand why you need 4 sides to your compost bin. Won't it be hard to get in to toss or sift? Perhaps you don't need another pallet. If you leave off the fourth side, and simply add an "L" using the two pallets you have, you will have two bins, side by side, which share a common center wall.

The woman involved in the infamous hot coffee case wasn't the first person badly burned by coffee from McDonald's. She deserved every penny. It's always used as an example of a "frivilous" lawsuit, but it was far from it. I've spilled hot coffee on myself numerous times over the course of my life - never got 3rd degree burns requiring skin grafts, however.

Supply and demand is what effects the prices of these items, not lawsuits. Most Americans aren't taught to reuse and conserve. Why save water in a rain barrel when you can just turn on the faucet and water pours out? Why compost? Isn't that what garbage disposals are for?

The British have a history of gardening that modern Americans don't have. Things are beginning to change, at least I hope they are, but gardening is still a "hobby" here for most people. As water becomes scarcer, things like rain barrels will gain in popularity. Whether that'll make things more expensive or less is another story! Besides - I've found most of those plastic compost bins to be pretty much useless. They're too small and it's almost impossible to get in them to turn the pile. I like the idea of the 55 gallon drum that can spin - just haven't seen one that's affordable. It's pretty much the only "bin" I'd even consider. I had a homemade 3-bin setup that we copied from The Victory Garden book, but it eventually rotted. I've had just a pile on the ground since and it works the best! Not too attractive tho - I'll give you that!

Lisa

Heather, your design sounds great, inexpensive, and easy to assemble.

But, if chipmunks, the most ferocious feeders, are around, they'll run off with all fresh kitchen scraps in an open compost pile. If night falls before they're finished, the coons will do it for them.

So, to get my scraps composted, I drilled half-inch holes in large, plastic garbage bins/containers with tight-fitting, locking lids ($16/each). They're on wheels.

Two are placed at the kitchen back door, one with compost, one with shredded, dry leaves, so when needed, more browns are at hand. Very convenient. Scraps never get old before getting composted.

True, turning takes dexterity.

I pull a plastic bag over the top of the bin to prevent rain from seeping in through the holes, but still allow air circ. Shredded leaves for browns. It heats up very well (unless rain seeps in!).

All other vegetation go on the regular compost piles.

Hope this is helpful and an alternative to expensive composters.

I was going to buy a rain barrel too, but they were $100, so I just skipped on it. I did a test while it was raining and could collect quite a bit of water from my roof trough. But the cost is too much..
I couldn't see why its so expensive when its just a big piece of plastic with a spigot on it, com'on!

How about getting a 55gal plastic drum that alot of companies throw away and just putting a tap on it. Put it on a stand of some sort with a hole in the top for the down spout going into it. Let gravity do the job for you. Well at least something along that line anway. My night job tends to discard blue plastic ones once a month, with a little cleaning I think I can manage to make my own. If it works I will post pictures and let you know how it goes.

Mark

thanks again, you are great, on the 3 sided bin idea, I didn't do that as thought? maybe wrongly that the material needs to be held in to build up heat??, I used the bungy rope on the forth side so I can take that side down to turn it, unfortunatly it has been prove that I am the world's weakest women, and I find that task imposible! so I thought if I build a second bin, I can sort of empty one into the other? and then back again, this I can manage as I can do it methodically, and for this year at least, should work, I will need more pallets I feel next year, but hopefully the pallet litter bug will abandon some more, if not I will have to actually start doing some phoning round businesses. I like the wheelie bin idea (thats what we call them in the UK?) and funnily enough saw them in BJ's yesterday when we joined and a first thought they where composters, $20, which kind of proves my point, I suppose, moulded plasic on wheels $20! (is BJ's costco ect, what a big box store are? I would call it a cash and carry! and writing that, even to me I suddenly think "cash and carry" what does that mean?? I digress)
we have chipmonks, see them out and about but so far they have left the heap alone, even when it was a cold pile, I can only assume that the population is getting its food needs from the wood, or they just don't like the fact it is normally a bit stinky by the time I transfer it to the heap, I have a small closed bin the the kitchen, and I normally empty it every 3 days or so, so its gone abit smelly by that point, I am sure I am going to empty more frequently as the summer progresses, which is why I loved the wheelie bin idea.