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I live in a small apartment with limited space (there is a small outdoor patio).

I want to start using a compost bin, but all the models I've found are quite large and seem to include mechanisms for turning or agitating the compost.

I was wondering if this was absolutely necessary to do and, if possible, could I just use a normal container of some sort and 'turn' the compost every so often when I extract the degraded soil to use?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

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The bigger the composting pile is, the least turning it needs, because most of the pile remains sheltered from the dry / temperature-changing outside.

If you want to have a compost at your place with limited space to handle it, the best is probably to turn towards vermicompost. You don't need a big pile for this, and worms will do the turning for you. Great soil will come out of this in relative short time.

Another possibility is to have a big compost for the whole building. But neighbors kindness is needed for that.

Good luck!

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    I think that it should be mentioned that, especially for food leftovers that can get pretty soggy, aerating the compost is necessary for efficient aerobic decomposition. A pile of food leftovers left without bulky carbon-rich material and without turning risks creating an wet anaerobic layer at the bottom, that will produce a lot more CO2-equivalent by releasing extra methane (and it will probably smell bad). – stragu Aug 23 '17 at 6:43

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