Compost on my mind

Our retired life is rather simple, especially since we've been mostly sheltering at home since early March.  We live in a quiet, semi-rural area and keep busy with our various projects.  For me that means lots of quilting, reading, cooking, and knitting.  But for over two months now, I've been dealing with an annoying problem that just doesn't seem to resolve itself.  And it all involves compost.  I have had a compost bin most of my adult life.  I chucked weeds and clippings in with food scraps and, eventually, spread it on my garden.  Even at the B&B, we had a large plastic bin out back which served us well.  When we moved to a condo, we gave it to our next door neighbor, an avid gardener.  

Our home looks like a house but is attached to the one next door at the garage, so our "units" are shaped like an "L"  The backyard is common land great for neighborhood gatherings, including Friday afternoon croquet games and social time in summer.  This year we even had a movie night outside.  But that leaves no room for a compost pile or bin.  The lawn care guys are willing to pick up branches and clippings from bushes I prune.   But what about food scraps?    We generate quite a few now that we are trying to eat more vegetables and fruits.  I checked into a "green cone" which you bury into the ground with only a small bit sticking up, but they need lots of sun to work well.   Any garden spot next to the house is too small or too shady.

I hate to use the garbage disposal and dump something that could feed the earth into the sewer system.  Several years ago I got a 5 gallon bucket with a tight fitting lid and have been taking my compost about once a month to one of two sites in town.  Their hours are limited, prices vary, and it is a real drag to drive with a smelly bucket in summer or to wash it out in winter.  

At the end of August, feeling my age, I decided to treat us to home pick up.  One company charges $13.99 every two weeks.  Another charges $9.99 a month for bi-weekly pickup.   Over Labor Day weekend, I arranged to go with the latter.  I paid for September and waited for an introductory email.  Nothing.  So I sent an email with a list of questions (e.g., "what day will you pick up?").  I got an answer... eventually.  After three weeks, a bucket was delivered.  Then an email came, telling me that pick ups were delayed due to illness.  Then it was a funeral.  Then it was mechanical failures.  Then a personnel shortage.  Somewhere along the line, another empty bucket was delivered, but nothing has been picked up.   

I cancelled my automatic payment over a month ago and have officially quit the service twice.  But earlier this week I agreed to give them just one more chance after a sad email message from the company.   It's been two days since the last email promising pick up, and two heavy, full buckets of raw compost are still waiting.  I've lost track of the times in the past six weeks that I've taken them to the end of the driveway.  Today I start a new bucket, using my old one.   I'll try not to look at those other buckets and hope they won't be there next spring.