I used the black plastic bins to "compost" for years, and then 3 years ago I built a big bin, followed by two more last year. My conclusions: the plastic bins aren't large enough for hot composting. For all intents and purposes, they are outdoor garbage cans for organic matter. But that said, worms, pill bugs, centipedes, millipedes etc. will move in and break down the OM you put in it, it just takes longer. I used to empty these things once a year (usually in the fall to make room for more yard waste). On the plus side, what came out looked very much (and was) compost. On the down side, I usually got a lot of volunteer tomato plants, pumpkins etc. wherever I spread the compost. I actually just gave the last of my plastic bins to a neighbor - he was admiring the steam coming off my new bins and thought that was kinda cool. I figured I'd start him small ;o) Cheers, Tim

Hi and welcome, 1-yes you can, but they will take a very long time to break down so it might not be worth it. 2-worms sometimes take a little while to get used to a new environment and escape attempts are common right at first. Instead of trying to clamp the lid down, you might be better off leaving the lights on in the room with the bin until the worms get used to their new bedding. 3-worms are light sensative which explains why they seem to try escaping at night and why a light will help keep them down in the bedding. Exposure to direct sunlight for long can kill them. 4-Worms can squeeze through just about any opening, probably even through screening so it is unlikely that your holes are small enough to stop them. Keeping the environment in the bin as hospitable to them as possible is the best way to keep them in. Screening is more to keep flys out though they are pretty good at finding ways in too. Holes only in the lid of the bin may not be enough air but play it by ear (or perhaps nose) and see how it goes. If the bin starts getting smelly, it is either a sign that you are feeding too much or there is not enough air and the bin has become anarobic. Some people don't even have lids on their bins, they just lay cardboard, newspaper, burlap, or something over the bedding to help keep it moist and dark. 5-If you have pets, you may need a sturdy lid (I've caught the kittens sleeping on top of my bin.) Make sure to bury food under bedding so the smells don't attract flys, fruit flys, or other creatures. Also, be careful of overfeeding. Don't feed again until the last meal is gone, worms will happily eat the bedding too so don't worry that you are starving them. The apple core and lettuce are fine, don't feed them again for a while. Make sure the bedding is moist (like a wrung out sponge) but not wet and be patient. Worms are easy to farm.

@sbryce: I'm really not sure how my worms are doing. There are definitely less of them, and they aren't reproducing (not as many eggs) as they were in the early summer. And the neglect caused the mites (?) to show up.... which is usually not the case. Why did all these additional bugs show up when I left the bin without food (scraps of human food) for a couple months. I'm not sure that I have enough in the bedding to begin with. And one thing I started to do was add shredded paper that was left to soak in water for days/weeks. (I would just leave some water in the bin of my shredder.) Is that a problem at all? Maybe the paper soaked too long and caused some chemical reaction? The only thing I noticed about the excessively soaked paper was that it was filmy and clumpy. I made sure I squeezed it good though before I broke it up and put it in the bin. @otis11 - Thanks. I think I'll try that. I'm still not exactly sure what these tiny bugs are... if they are mites (b/c I've had those in small quantities in my bin before). I'll try and take a picture and post it.

Hey Equinox; Haven't been here in awhile. This darned internet, ever expanding - ever interesting; like the world's biggest library. Maybe if I'd just never learned to read, I would've been ok, Ah Well.. Yep, I'm one of those people who freezes and blenderizes. For those who don't know me, I have two large (16 Gal.) Rubbermaid-type plastic bins which I originally started in Nov. 2009 with EF's. Part of the problem, is that we produce a lot more waste than the worms can consume and even though the town where I now live has a city-wide organic waste recycling program, it just feels wrong to be tossing stuff that I know the worms (microbes) will enjoy. The freezing and thawing process really helps to break down cell structure, leaving a nice, soft mess. This then goes into my (not my wife's) food processor, to which I add composted rabbit poop, coffee grounds, powdered eggshells, etc. The resulting mash which usually tends to the wetter side, I mix with shredded cardboard and then feed on one side of the bin. It usually takes the microbes a week or so to start working on the food. Within two weeks the worms have migrated to the food, leaving the other side worm-free and making it easier to harvest the castings. As for air flow, I finally solved my problem. I drilled 1/2" holes all around the sides in the upper half of the bin. Sure, the worms could escape if they wanted to, but with ample moisture, plenty of food, good airflow and proper bedding; they just don't seem to want to leave. Of course when the weather is nasty, I'll always find a few gone exploring, but the majority seem to stay put. In the past I lined the inside of the bins with fine mosquito netting, hoping to keep out the fruit flies and fungus gnats while providing air flow through the netting, as well as keeping the worms from escaping and making it easier to harvest the castings (because all the castings are within the netting and not stuck to the walls of the bin). In reality it didn't quite work out that way. The flies and gnats got in regardless. I found the best thing is to hang sheets of yellow sticky fly paper above the bins and then to encourage the flies to join their friends at the big yellow picnic table. It usually works. When the mosquito netting got wet, it stopped the airflow rather than helped it, so that didn't work either. But here was the worst of it: when the worms hatched, they were so tiny that they could actually pass through the fine mesh of the mosquito netting into the space between the netting and the wall of the bin. Once there, they couldn't get back. Food particles and moisture would filter down through the netting and I always found worms there whenever I harvested out the main bin. Now, my bins are outside. I have a large porch/patio area, but no actual ground. The winter of 2011-2012 was particularly wet (in my area) and so I didn't really have a chance to harvest out the bins properly, until Mar.2012. In Dec. 2011 after about a week of constant rain, I had a major worm escape (though mostly from the worms living in that limbo place between the netting and the bin)and lost around 500 worms. After that experience, I tossed the mosquito netting and drilled large 1/2" holes all around. So far, even with heavy rains, they seem to stay put. Shaul