Monkeys. that should be worth a prize. I have not seen that one on any forum before. And I thought rats were bad! Normally the recommended size for a compost pile is a meter cubed - 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet, in order to be big enough to generate enough heat from microbial activity to heat up the pile. Now perhaps generating enough heat will not be as much of an issue in Hong Kong as it is in more temperate climates, but still I would think that a 10 gallon can might not be big enough to generate enough heat to actually compost. But you do what you're able to do. If a 10 gallon can is all you've got then that's what you compost in. Adding air and drainage is crucial, keeping the monkeys out, creating the proper proportions of kitchen waste to dry leaves, and you have done what you can. I have composted in larger trash cans before so it can be done. I've been to HK once before and I must say I consider Hong Kong to be an incredibly green city for the density of human population. Lots of really nice parks, every apartment, store, or office has a container garden, little pocket gardens squeezed in wherever possible, and of course the weeds that grow in the cracks in the concrete are things like ferns and ficus trees. People there are serious about gardening and having plants around! whereas here in the US, city dwellers seem to prefer concrete to living things.

will these be on a lawn, or what sort of area? Maybe get some cardboard sheets used to separate pallats at grocery store, place bin over that, so that the cardboard extends beyond the bin, and then sprinkle some wood chips around that on top of the cardboard. It will keep weeds down and if you move/pick up the bins for turning, these materials can stay nicely on the ground and prevent weeds. If the woodchip "moat" gets thin, add a little more. The cardboard will break down inside the bin quickly with the moisture and heat, will attract worms from below.

There has been an ordinance against composting for many years, based on fear of rodents - not completely logical, but there you have it. I live in a city with a big "green thinker" population that thinks farming is icky. . . go figure. To them, living green is about repainting roads so there's a built in bicycle track on the side. I start talking about growing my own food and people ask me, "Is it safe if it hasn't been processed at a factory?" Sad but true comment that was said to me at work. I scrounged up an old bookcase, about 3x4. I think I can knock the shelves out to make a lid that will fit closely, and then I just have to build up the bottoms of the sides with scrap lumber and get one side (the top shelf side, I think) to come loose for turning the compost. I'm still trying to think of different ways to chop stuff up. I may end up with a machete after all. I saw some designs on the web for handcranked chippers using large drill bits, but they required welding. You guys are great, thank you! Here is a link that might be useful: original thread

brandon, If your system is not full of water but air and you have covered the tubing with fine material, fine soil particles can find their way into your tubes sufficiently enough by rain and melting snow to clog your tube orifices and solidify hard enough that your low pressure system cannot force the sediment out. Flushing from the end of the tubes can help but not is the sediment is locked at the orifice. I would not do it. Aloha