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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Moving house and compost bin?

23 replies

Mrshyat · 29/04/2021 09:14

We are moving in a few weeks and have no idea what to do about our compost bin - do we leave it? How would we throw away the contents?

OP posts:

Mosaic123 · 29/04/2021 09:20

I'd leave it.

johnd2 · 29/04/2021 09:21

Is it rented or are you selling?
If rented ask the landlord if it's ok to leave. If it's selling then put it on the contents form as being left for the next buyers.
If they insist on getting rid you can either offer it on gumtree or free cycle for someone to collect the lot, or spread whatever you can into the soil and put the rest in the council compost collection bin.
Hope your move goes well!

Original poster

Mrshyat · 29/04/2021 09:22

We are selling, I wasn't quite sure what the etiquette was on compost!

OP posts:

sbplanet · 29/04/2021 09:25

If its a good one I'd bag up the compost and take both bin and compost with me. :D If it's one of the cheap 'dalek' ones I'd leave both.

bombis · 29/04/2021 09:27

We emptied the compost under the bushes and took the empty compost bin with us.

PumpingPamela · 29/04/2021 09:28

Is it good compost? If so I'd personally say leave it. Please don't leave your crappy, dry, unrotted, ant ridden waste though (speaking from personal experience ).

Puffthemagicdragongoestobed · 29/04/2021 09:32

When we moved into our house the vendors had left two full compost bins in the garden. At first it put me off but then I realised that there was brilliant mulch in there which we used for our new veggie patch! The only annoying thing though is that our vendors had put some stuff in there they shouldn't have been in there, like labels and nets from vegetables or thick tea bags. I am still picking them out of our veggie patch a year later!

echt · 29/04/2021 10:14

We took our bins and compost with us. This is Victoria, and we live on sand, so the worms all have names.

Changingwiththetimes · 29/04/2021 10:17

What have you said on the fixtures and fittings forms? If you haven't mentioned it you could ask if your buyers want it.

catndogslife · 29/04/2021 12:29

We emptied the contents on the garden a few week's before exchanging. Left the empty bin behind.
We didn't add any fresh waste to the bin when the house was on the market though - it all went in the food waste bin. So by exchange time, it was good quality compost.

BeechTreeView · 29/04/2021 12:39

Brought our dalek with us. And the compost...

rottielove · 30/04/2021 00:02

I left mine. It was full and not decomposing very well. I wasn't always very careful about what went in it! No way was I going to go through the hassle of emptying it...

PumpingPamela · 30/04/2021 02:26

@rottielove are you the previous owner of my house?

rottielove · 30/04/2021 06:26

[quote PumpingPamela]@rottielove are you the previous owner of my house? [/quote]
When did you complete?

Cheesypea · 30/04/2021 07:08

Stop adding to it and mulch the plants now with anything that's ready. You can bury anything that hasn't decomposed and plant something on top?
If you can take it with you, not everyone wants a compost bin.

burritofan · 30/04/2021 07:16

I specified we were leaving ours on the fixtures and fittings form! It was terrific compost, too. The house we moved to had not specified, and had left us with terrible compost, right by the kitchen window too. I would just dig yours through the beds or do some mulching, and get rid.

tigerbread20 · 30/04/2021 07:20

I'd be pissed off about inheriting a compost bin. Think it's definitely better to ask!

stillcrazyafterall · 30/04/2021 08:31

So glad you asked OP, I'd been wondering this myself! We have 2 - one rotting down, one being filled, would be gutted to have to leave them, not sure how the removal men feel about packing my compost though

Candleabra · 30/04/2021 08:35

@tigerbread20

I'd be pissed off about inheriting a compost bin. Think it's definitely better to ask!

I'd have been pissed off 20 years ago. I'd be delighted now!

Agree with everyone, people will have very different views on this. Speak to the estate agents to see what the buyers would prefer.

Hmmph · 30/04/2021 09:17

We stopped adding to ours when we sold, so the compost is “good” now. Considered taking compost, but too much hassle. So have emptied the compost into the raised bed and cleaned up the bin and are taking it ready to start afresh in our new place!

mareep · 30/04/2021 09:31

I'm buying a house with 4 bins, planning to specify that I would like them :-D

Janedownourlane · 30/04/2021 09:57

We asked on the conveyancing forms and the new buyer wanted the compost bins left. We also asked about cold frames that they also wanted and we were happy to leave as we were downsizing our garden. If they had said no, then I suppose we would have had to dismantle them, but I think it was us that brought them up rather than the buyer. To be honest, it never occurred to me to empty the contents. There was a big veggie patch so hopefully they will have had some good compost to put on it, if they kept it.

Dogfan · 30/04/2021 13:14

You should have said what you were doing with it on the enquiries forms - do you remember? If not maybe just confirm now you are planning to leave it. I've decided to leave mine as all a bit of a pain to move it. I can't imagine the buyers being bothered one way or the other.

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