getting mulch from the dump ?

[MarkP]

I have had mulch in a 5' x 5' x 5' pile get up to 145 degrees. That's 18" in, as far as my compost thermometer will reach. The outside is ambient temperature. It also takes a couple of days to reach full temperature. There is plenty of opportunity for undesirable bugs and plants to escape being cooked. It is still a good thing to do though. Covering with clear plastic does help get the temps up particularly on the surface and probably just as important it creates a humid environment where creatures can not use ventilation and evaporation to keep themselves cool. The ideal setup would be a nice concrete slab and a bin with some impervious walls, preferably insulated. That way there is only the top and front to seal with plastic. I know much emphasis is placed on aerating the pile but small piles are naturally over-aerated and are hard to keep warm. Large windrows in commercial settings are often aerated to release heat and keep them from burning. Large in this case is apparently several times larger than my pile. I was never the least bit concerned about fire. A 10'x10'x10' pile would have 8 times the volume of my 5'x5'x5' pile, so several times larger, not twice as large.

I have been turning over ideas for corner fence posts on my property. I am thinking of building CMU walls out from the corners about 6' each way. That should make an excellent anchor point for the fence as well as make an excellent compost bin on each corner of the property.