Compostvakken voor tuin en erf
Een compostvak dat nooit verteert in de compost
Compost breekt af wat het omhult. PolyBrick®-vakken ondervinden daar geen last van: geen rotting, geen impregnering, geen vervanging, en open voegen die de hoop laten ademen.
Waarom PolyBrick hier de juiste keuze is
Er zit een bijzondere ironie in een houten compostvak. De hoop erin is een machine die organisch materiaal afbreekt, en het vak is gemaakt van organisch materiaal. Pallets gaan twee à drie jaar mee. Geïmpregneerd hout gaat iets langer mee en brengt verduurzamingsmiddelen in contact met compost die u straks over voedselgewassen verspreidt.
PolyBrick is geen voedsel voor de hoop. Het rot niet, en het materiaal is inert, zodat er niets vanuit het vak in de compost terechtkomt. Het is UV-bestendig, zodat de zonnige zijde niet bros wordt terwijl de beschaduwde zijde vochtig blijft.
Het andere voordeel is praktisch: omdat blokken op elkaar klikken zonder te worden vastgezet, kan een vak worden gedemonteerd. Iedereen die ooit een hoop heeft geprobeerd te keren of een bak te legen via een kleine deur begrijpt waarom dat uitmaakt.
Waar dit goed werkt
- Enkelvoudige compostvakken voor de tuin
- Twee- en drievaks-rotatiesystemen
- Bladcompostvakken
- Compostering op volkstuinen en gemeenschapstuinen
- Opslag van grasmaaisel en groenafval
- Mestvakken en mestopslag
- Opslag van houtsnippers en boomschors
- School- en gemeenschapstuinprojecten
In één oogopslag
| Montage | Kliksysteem zonder gereedschap, mortel of bevestigingsmiddelen |
| Toegang | Voorste lagen kunnen worden verwijderd om het vak te openen voor keren en legen |
| Beluchting | Bouw met openingen tussen de blokken zodat lucht via de wanden de hoop bereikt |
| Bodem | Open naar de grond, zodat wormen en organismen naar binnen kunnen en vocht wegloopt |
| Contact | Inert. Niets lekt in compost die bestemd is voor teelt |
| Materiaal | 100% gerecycled polypropeen, UV-bestendig, duurzaam geproduceerd in de EU |
| Levensduur | 25 jaar onder garantie |
| Onderhoud | Geen. Afspoelen als u dat wilt; meer is er niet aan |
Bouw het zo dat het ademt
Een composthoop heeft lucht nodig. Zonder lucht verloopt het proces anaëroob: langzamer, kouder, en met de zure geur die mensen doet afhaken van composteren.
Bouw de zijwanden met bewuste openingen tussen de blokken in plaats van massief, zodat lucht via de wanden over de volledige hoogte van de hoop naar binnen stroomt. Hetzelfde principe als een lattenbodem van hout, maar zonder rottende latten.
Laat de bodem open naar de grond. Wormen, schimmels en bacteriën koloniseren de hoop van onderaf, vocht loopt weg in plaats van te stagneren, en de hoop blijft in contact met de grond waaruit hij afkomstig is.
Waarom drie vakken beter werkt dan één
Eén bak is een plek om tuinafval in te gooien. Een drievakssysteem is een proces, en het levert aanzienlijk meer bruikbare compost op met minder inspanning.
Het principe is eenvoudig: vak één is wat u nu vult, vak twee is wat u de vorige periode hebt gevuld en actief aan het verteren is, vak drie is afgerijpte compost die klaar is voor gebruik. Zodra vak drie leeg is, schuift alles een vak op, en het verplaatsen van materiaal tussen de vakken keert en beluchtte het tegelijk — dat is wat het hele proces versnelt.
Omdat het systeem modulair is, kunt u beginnen met één vak en de andere toevoegen naarmate uw volume groeit, in plaats van op dag één de volledige opstelling te realiseren.
How it goes together
- Choose a level spot with reasonable access. You will be wheeling barrows to it in all weathers, so a route that is not across wet lawn is worth having.
- Clear the ground and level it. Leave the base as bare soil rather than paving it, so the heap stays in contact with the ground.
- Lay the first course and check it level in both directions. Everything above follows it.
- Build up the back and sides in courses, leaving gaps between blocks for airflow, and staggering the joints between courses.
- Build the front as loose, stackable courses that lift out rather than as part of the structure. This is your access.
- Where you are building multiple bays, share the dividing walls between them.
- Cap the top course if you want a finished edge, and leave the top open or cover the heap with a sheet or old carpet to keep rain off.
The removable front
This is the detail that makes a bay pleasant to use rather than a chore, and it is where most bought bins fail.
Build the front wall as courses that simply lift out. Fill the bay with the front in place, then remove the courses one at a time as you dig the heap out, so you are always working at a comfortable height with the face of the heap open to you.
Compare that with a plastic dalek bin, where finished compost is at the bottom, under everything you have added since, behind a hatch the size of a letterbox. The removable front is the single biggest reason people actually turn their heaps.
Sizing the bay
Bigger heaps work better. A heap needs enough mass to hold heat, and a small bin loses it to the outside faster than the process generates it, which is why little bins produce cold, slow compost.
Around a cubic metre is the usual working minimum for a heap that heats properly. Below that, composting still happens, it is just slower and stays cooler, which means weed seeds and roots survive it.
Do not go so wide that you cannot reach the middle with a fork. Depth front to back is more useful than width, and if you have the space, another bay beats one enormous one.
Muck heaps and green waste
The same structure works for manure storage, grass clippings and wood chip, and for those the material advantage is even clearer, because these are wetter, heavier and harder on a container than garden compost.
For muck heaps, check what applies to you on storage siting and run-off before you build. Rules on storing manure near watercourses, ditches and boreholes vary, and the position of the heap matters more than the bay it is in.
Get it right first time
The one thing worth knowing: put it somewhere you will actually walk to.
The most common composting failure is not technique, it is distance. A bay at the far end of the garden, across the lawn, behind the shed, gets used enthusiastically in spring and abandoned by October when it is dark and wet.
Site it somewhere on a route you already take, with a firm approach underfoot. Slightly less tidy and considerably more used beats beautifully hidden and full of nettles.
Ask our engineer
Questions about bay sizing, multiple bay layouts or muck heap storage? Ask below, or get in touch directly.
Common Questions
Why use plastic blocks for a compost bay instead of wood?
A compost heap is a machine for breaking down organic material, and a wooden bin is organic material. Pallets last two or three years, and treated timber puts preservative in contact with compost you may spread on food crops.
PolyBrick does not rot and is inert, so nothing moves from the bay into the compost, and it is UV stabilised so the sunny side does not go brittle.
Does a compost bay need gaps for airflow?
Yes. A heap without air goes anaerobic, which is slower, colder and produces the sour smell that makes people abandon composting.
Build the side walls with deliberate gaps between blocks so air moves in through the walls along the full height of the heap. It is the same principle as a slatted timber bay, without the slats rotting.
Should the compost bay have a base?
Leave it open to bare soil. Worms, fungi and bacteria colonise the heap from below, liquid drains away instead of pooling, and the heap stays in contact with the ground.
Paving underneath cuts the heap off from the organisms that do the work.
How big should a compost bay be?
Around a cubic metre is the usual working minimum for a heap that heats properly, because a heap needs enough mass to hold heat and small bins lose it faster than the process generates it.
Below that, composting still happens but stays cool and slow, which means weed seeds and roots survive. Do not go so wide that you cannot reach the middle with a fork.
How do you get the compost out?
Build the front wall as loose courses that lift out rather than as part of the structure. Remove them one at a time as you dig the heap out, so you are always working at a comfortable height with the face of the heap open.
It is the single biggest reason people actually turn their heaps, compared with a bin where finished compost sits at the bottom behind a small hatch.
Is a three bay system worth it?
It turns composting from storage into a process. Bay one is what you are filling, bay two is actively rotting, bay three is finished and ready to use. When bay three empties everything shifts along, and moving material between bays turns and aerates it, which accelerates everything.
Because the system is modular you can start with one bay and add others as volume grows.
Can I use it for a muck heap or grass clippings?
Yes, and the material advantage is even clearer, because manure, clippings and wood chip are wetter, heavier and harder on a container than garden compost.
For muck heaps, check what applies to you on storage siting and run-off before building, since rules on storing manure near watercourses, ditches and boreholes vary and the position matters more than the bay.
Does the bay need a lid?
Not structurally, but covering the heap helps. Keeping heavy rain off stops the heap becoming waterlogged and cold, and retains warmth.
A sheet, a board or an old carpet over the top is enough, and it can be lifted off when you add material.
Will it need any maintenance?
No. There is nothing to rot, treat, stain or replace, and no fixings to work loose. Rinse it down if you want to, but that is the extent of it.
The blocks carry a 25 year warranty and can be dismantled and reused elsewhere if you reorganise the garden.
