Compost Bin Handles

I live in the land of red back spiders and other deadly wildlife so I'm mystified by the design of compost bins. Beneath the rim where you have to stick your fingers there could be anything 8 legged lurking, and of course there's always compost juice or condensation. Which is it? Well you'll never know. But it's gross.

In the past I've put an old wooden knob on a lid so it can be lifted off but it rotted away, the screw rusted and the hinges on that one broke anyway. Plastic lasts forever though.

So what ends up happening is that the lids get left off, composting slows down and the flies have a party because our bins are used exclusively for pet related waste. With summer on its way I'd like fewer baby flies born.

1. Power drill (mine was an impact driver because the chuck on my proper drill is dodgy, but plastic is soft so it worked fine)
2. Largish drill bit
3. Scissors
4. Polyester, UV resistant rope or whatever you have lying around that won't absorb compost juice (or will, you do you)
5. Lighter
6. Cable ties

You may know where you bin lid is, but I had to go hunting. Of course it was under a clam shell swimming pool that normally has a lawn mower living under it (we don't have a shed).

Drill 2 sets of holes either side of the lid, if it doesn't look like they'll be big enough to pass the rope through make the holes bigger by wiggling the bit around in the hole to enlarge it. Or use a larger drill bit if you're fancy.

I cut mine to around 30cm in length, as long as it's long enough to knot on the inside and be an effective handle it'll do the trick. Melt the ends with the cigarette lighter, no need to go wild as it just needs to be melted enough to allow the rope to pass through the holes in the lids.

Feed each end of the rope into one of the holes in the lid from the top, so they're poking through to the inside. Take a deep breath and curl your fingers under that gross lid just one...last...time and flip it over.

Say hi to any lid inhabitants, rehome if necessary. Tie a single knot in the end of each piece of rope so it can't pull through, I like to melt the knot a little just so it doesn't come undone but if you knot it tightly enough it shouldn't.

Put the lid back on.

Pull the handles up and thread a cable tie around one of the strands of the rope, this is to stop it from slipping down into the holes and getting coated in nasty bin juice. Cut the ends of the cable ties off or leave them on if you're lazy.

And of course put them on and off a bunch of times. It's satisfying, trust me.

Tell your furry feces factories that their bins are ready for further deposits.