Good luck to you on the project!

So many more people in urban settings -- no way to adapt for that?

I have even had friends in condos with a worm composter on a deck. If you really want to help the environment there are ways to adapt . With recycling, and composting we have 1 bag of real garbage in a week and there are 4 of us .

Thank you all for taking the survey and for your helpful comments!

@acm The intention of this project is actually specific to suburban backyards. There are many effective ways to compost in urban environments, including worm bins and subscription based collection services. These collection services are becoming increasingly common, and while they make sense for city dwellers that live in close proximity, collection services don't make sense for people who are widely spread (thinking about the emissions from hauling around all that waste) and who have ample backyard space. Currently, for people who want to start backyard composting, their options are to either buy a not-so-nice looking plastic bin or to build/ create their own bins. With this project I am offering a solution that looks nice, functions well and requires no tools or skills to assemble. It is kind of like a starter-kit, or even an upgrade for some. I am trying to create another option for people looking to compost at home, not create a universal solution for everyone, although that would be pretty neat!

Are you taking into account the numerous local government restrictions on composting? Type of container, size, etc.

I'm with Mary Ellen - you have to control access from vermin or you are just creating fancy rat/raccoon feeders. At the other end of food chain, many suburbs also see bears - we have had them here in the greater Pittsburgh area.

Have all you looked at the options given? I think some of them would work well with varmints. It also depends what one composts and the materials used to make the composter. I've had raccoons eat through the heavy plastic city trash cans, but they never go in the compost bins that I can tell as they're mainly leaves, tea bags, coffee etc. Autumn, as I mentioned in the survey, I use the Little Green Cone for food waste and it is fantastic. Perhaps a more attractive version of that would be useful in addition. : ))