Composting occurs naturally if left untouched but the process can be hastened up through a variety of methods like turning the pile, adding composting accelerators and many more. There are many hiccups in the process of composting, coming in the form of pests and animals or controlling the right moisture levels or not being able to remove the compost, when it is ready.
There are many innovative methods through which these problems are tackled and there is a constant effort to enhance the design of the composters to make compost faster and easier. Upright bins are one such, which is a simple frame of shipping pallets in the form a box. Though this type of composter allows more oxygen through, it is difficult to control the moisture level in this container.
Next came the composting barrels that are far better than their earlier types of composters. In this method, a barrel was attached to a stand that allowed it to be rotated. Through this method, it was possible to monitor and control the moisture content and thoroughly mix and aerate the composting material so that composting takes place in an enclosed space.
The only downside of composting barrels is that the batch nature of the composter. This can also be overcome by placing another drum inside the composting barrel so that compost material can be added through a door in the side of the outer drum and as it breaks down into compost, it would emerge in the end of the rotating drum. This gives a good mix of greens and browns and rich compost is ready within weeks.