The Natural Step Monona is taking orders for Earth Machine compost bins. Order your bin now through May 5, and then pick it up and pay for it at the Monona Farmers’ Market on May 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The bins come disassembled and will fit in any car. A Home Composting Handbook is included.

The number of bins available will be capped at 100, so get your order in soon. With distribution on Mothers Day, a bin makes an environmentally- and economically-friendly Mothers Day gift.

The price is $45 each, which includes tax. This is the same composter available at the Dane County/City of Madison sale, only we conveniently provide your pre-ordered composters to you at the Monona Farmers’ Market and you don’t have to stand in a long line hoping they have some left by the time you reach the front of the line!

Planned around the compost bin distribution, the topic for the Green Tuesday presentation on May 12 will be Composting and Vermiculture presented by the Madison Area Permaculture Guild (MAPG). Master Composter and member of the MAPG, Brad Kaellner, will be one of the presenters. (See the Green Tuesday events on this site for details about the series.)

Composting is a simple, practical, and effective way to recycle yard waste and kitchen scraps. Not only does composting keep useable materials from having to be hauled away and from filling up precious landfill space, it turns those materials into an enriching soil amendment.

Monona residents bought thirty bins during The Natural Step Monona’s 2007 sale. With estimates that the average household diverts 500 pounds of organic matter from the waste stream per year by using a compost bin, this means those thirty bins have kept fifteen tons of waste out of our landfill in the last two years!

The Monona Farmers’ Market is at Ahuska Park, on Broadway between Monona Drive and Stoughton Road.

For questions about the sale, please email info@tnsmonona.org or call 663-2459. For more information about the Earth Machine compost bins, please visit www.earthmachine.com.

To order, email info@tnsmonona.org or call 663-2459 with the following information: name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, and number of bins desired. You will receive confirmation of your order, and then a reminder email closer to the distribution date. 

More Details about the Earth Machine:

The Earth Machine™ is the most successful product of its type in the world. Since its introduction, more than 2,500,000 Earth Machines have been put in use in over 3,500 communities.

The Earth Machine is designed for easy, passive composting – just start filling the bin, water it, and occasionally stir or poke it – or easy, active composting – turning and aerating weekly.

Ventilation is controlled through the alignment of the lid.

The Earth Machine secures to the ground with sturdy twist pegs, has a secure access door, locking lid, and air vents too small to allow rodent entry, creating a nearly rodent-proof bin.

 
Its two-piece assembly snaps together without the use of any tools. 

It is made of high-density, injection-molded polyethylene with a minimum 50% post-consumer recycled materials. It has UV stabilizers for all season strength and resistance to all kinds of weather.

The Earth Machine comes in two halves which nest inside each other and fits into any automobile. 

 
The Earth Machine has a ten-year warranty against cracking, deterioration, warping, or any other defect that would diminish its effectiveness or appearance.

 
It comes with assembly/replacement instructions and a comprehensive twenty-page “Home Composting Handbook.”

 
Unit dimensions when assembled: 33″ diameter by 33″ high.
Weight: 15 lbs
Volume: 10.5 cubic feet (80 Imperial gallons or 300 litres)