So I drove around and picked up several X-marked cans, and I have a plan.

I'll fill about ten of them with leaves, grass, and other compostable material. On a weekly basis I'll pour the first can's contents into an empty can, the the next one's contents into that can, etc, so that all ten bins get aerated by the action of pouring them. Soon ten cans will become 7 or 8, as the piles shrink.

This should provide me with a speeded-up composting process to get my garden off to a good start. I'll be planting a garden in the spring, and don't expect my process to be fully complete by then, but the garbage cans are available now, so now's when I start.

I haven't had a garden in nearly 25 years, and it was a doozie. Very small, and very productive. I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Something that worked with the tumbling was to drill holes in the metal and install 4 inch bolts. I'm not sure if these would help you but I can see your material coming out unmixed - in one big "clump" is it were. You could put a bungee cord over the lid, lay the can on its side and roll it. As I say, I don't know if that would be of wonderful help.

The mass is smaller than what would be desirable for a compost bin. You may be able to help retain heat by "bunching" the cans close together and maybe by throwing some insulation around them.

You may want to try the cans in vermicomposting. Putting one or more cans inside each other with holes drilled in the bottoms might be something to think about. You'd need to make sure they don't get wedged tight together.

One thing, your FINISHED compost will be nicely protected in cans.

Steve