[Kathie]

Hi all,  our neighbour has asked if we would like his Ecomax compost bin complete with contents.  He has had it for a couple of years and has been putting veg peelings, grass cuttings and used chicken coop shavings in.  However, he has never forked it over as he said there was no way to do it.  Does anyone have any thoughts on the value of the contents for the garden or will it just need to be burned.
Thanks all

[mattwragg94]

empty it, mix it up and chuck it back in (if there is no compost in it) next year you should have some good compost, although with the stuff he's put in it i would imagine there is some good usable compost in there.

[prakash_mib]

lift it put it next to the place where it was, scoop stuffs and put it back last in first. 
thats what I do 

[Kathie]

Thanks for that folks, emptying it will make it easier to move too as it doesn't have a bottom

[JayG]

Don't even think of burning it - bite his hand off and give him lots of slobbery kisses! 

You'll presumably have to empty it to move it and will then find out how much (if any) is usable now, but given what he's put into it it should all be great compost eventually, even if it needs mixing, possibly moistening, and a bit more "cooking" time.

(You can buy compost stirrers with collapsing "wings" which I find quite useful unless you have a real tangle of stuff in the mix which makes it very heavy going.)

[compostqueen]

Grab his hand off as it will soon be lovely black gold for your garden 

You can poke it with a stick if you can't be bothered to stir it 

[viettaclark]

Lift up the bin, load the lovely contents into wheelbarrow, move bin next door and fill with stuff. Add some water if too dry. Doesn't matter if it's a bit wet....it's going on the garden!
It will mix up and you'll be amazed at the heat given off if it's still rotting down.
Ready to use in the Autumn.
Lucky you!