I would have two bins in your case, one to fill with the ground elder but never use it, just decompose it, and the second to make the real stuff with veg peelings,lawn cuttings etc. for use in your garden, I have no ground elder so have not come across this problem before !

A very good observation, Poochmad. Whilst the composting process will work best if the bin is in direct contact with the ground, there are always exceptions.
In your case you could thoroughly weed the area round where the bin will stand or, maybe, lay some weed barrier beneath the bin. Standing the bin on slabs is better than not having a bin at all!
Maybe some other members will come up with better ideas?

Always put weeds such as ground elder in your council garden bin never in your own compost bin. I have ground elder I dig over a larger area than the bins, then compact the earth and put the bins in the middle I have no ground elder in or near my bins. I do this every 2 years when I lift and empty the bins it works for me the ground elder is much better but I have to keep at it as both my neighbours have lots of it.

we are plagued with this too, I never put it in my own compost bin, it would spread everywhere, and for the months in the year where our council doesn't collect their (our) garden waste bin, I'm afraid I bag it and put it into the grey waste bin. I don't believe I'll ever quite get rid of it - especially with such little time at present for the garden, but I'm not going to wilfully spread it around! Another option would be keeping it dry somehow (hah! can you imagine?) for the now-and-again bonfires we have, but I'm not that organdized, and for another thing there's always the risk that a child would sabotage the system while making "perfume" or somesuch. So I play safe. Nettles are almost as bad...
Good luck anyway. It's really a dreadful plant. Bit like slugs - none of us can see the point!

Poochmad is not asking for advice on how to compost the ground elder... But rather on whether he can use a compost bin! Take Bulbas advice!

I read it as asking what to stand the bin on earth or slabs?

I read that Poochmad did not intend to put ground elder into the compost bin but that she/he was concerned about ground elder coming up from the earth below the bin to invade it.

I was told nettles make wonderful compost. Obviously they will be no good if they are growing up through the bin as the Ground elder in Poochmads case. I take it you can cut and compost non flowering stems, putting any roots and flowers out for the council to take away. Can anybody tell us why nettles are good composters.

my 3 bins are on slabs as its a case of necessity. the bins work fine although there is probably some run off. The RHS advice on ground elder says dig up and destroy......I think that means burn or place in your rubbish bin, not the compost bin.

Scotsgran you can compost all of the nettle if it isn't in flower. If it is just remove the flowers.

Thanks, I appreciate everyone taking the time to make suggestions. Bulbas, you are spot on, my worry is about the dreadful stuff invading from below, not if/how to compost it. I don't have a big plot & ground elder was well established in both our garden and the neighbours when we moved in, it had spread under concrete, patios, driveways, so it is really impossible to eradicate. I think I will try the bin first on slabs whilst also clearing an area on the earth combined with a weed barrier & monitor it. If ground elder starts to appear in the cleared earth space I will keep the bin on slabs.

Thank you Mg. I saw my first butterfly of the year today.A peacock. It was on the heather in the front garden along with a host of bumble bees. Our first sight is usually of an orange tip. We leave a patch of nettles for them to over winter and breed on. Good luck with the composting Poochmad. .

In a garden such as you describe, Poochmad, I think that I would resort to using a weedkiller such as Round-up. By spraying tyhe leaves the plant will carry the pesticide to the roots beneath the slabs.
I would put the roots of any that I had dug into the bin.

Wheelie bin I take it?

"The Bin" always refers to the rubbish bin. Other bins get their full title.

Thanks Bulbaholic, a good idea to do Round-up too. I am looking forward to making my own compost, and reducing what goes into landfill. Scotsgran, I saw a peacock butterfly today too!! I love this time of year. Wishing everyone a successful gardening year. :o)

And you Poochmad.

I didn't think I was offering "advice on how to compost ground elder", quite the opposite in fact, and some sympathy from our own experience. If ever I read a comment or answer on here which I don't agree with, I don't feel the need offend.
Moon grower, I find your comment to me on the rude side of "direct" and was taken aback. I've always found this an amazingly courteous and polite site to use.

We don't all have the answers first go, and we're not all professionals. Some of us are bumbling and VERY well meaning amateurs, and I do believe that interesting ideas come out of mulling things over or chatting around a subject.

Happy gardening one and all, we've been able to spend loads of time out there today with the glorious weather, I expect lots of other GOYers did too.

No you weren't Weeding but Grandmage & Drc were - which was what I was responding to, you response slipped in whilst I was typing and, obviously I did not se until after I had posted.

In general you will find I am direct and to the point in my answers. Mostly because that is what I appreciate if I ask a question. I certainly would not claim to be any sort of professional gardener... simply one who has been growing for many years.

What a great weekend it has been 19/20% here in Scotland. For months I have been longing to get in to the garden and start composting last years top growth from my herbaceous border but it has been too cold for me. Today I had a siesta after lunch as it was too hot. LOL I got out there again after three o'clock and started tidying up. I am very pleased with the result. There was at least 6 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and a Peacock butterfly along with loads of bumblebees and the first wasps I have seen this year on my winter heather bed. I had forgotten that my compost bins stand on old carpet laid rug side down. I also have pieces of carpet under the pergola with wood chip from the sawmill on top. When it comes fresh from the sawmill it has to be composted before usingin the garden so I lay it on the paths. Lovely smell and lovely to walk on. Every two or three years I rake it all up and add it to the compost bins and get a fresh load from the sawmill.

I love the smell of wood chip Scotsgran!! I have seen some butterflies and bees today lovely. it is definately getting warmer

Went to local Fuchsia Club's meeting last night (way off topic, sorry!) and really enjoyed an illustrated talk about pests and diseases, and different ways of combating them or learning to live with them. Interestingly the speaker said that panic about honeyfungus is out of all proportion, that it is not nearly as aggressive as is generally feared. I'll also look more kindly on wasps now I know that they are a good predator for eating lily beetles... There were some great close-up photos to enjoy.

Mgrower, I'll try not to be so easily offended in future, i probably overreacted there and have calmed down now. You certainly are direct - we found that the Germans appreciated brutal honesty and after some years living there just about got used to it! Ever thought of becoming an honorary German?! : )

Meant to say too, Scotsgran, I'm intrigued by what "last year's top growth from the herbaceous border" is. Do you mean you prune shrubs then let that material dry before composting it, or a top layer of soil??

Feeling inquisitive....

Its great that you have a guid scots tongue in your head Weeding. If in doubt always ask. Herbaceous perennials are the things like lupins, phlox, chrysanthemums, peony roses etc which come up each year, flower and die back. What dies is the top growth. The roots don't die they just absorb all the goodness from those top bits and store it up so they can put on a show for you the following year. I hope I am not being patronising putting it so simply. Because we get heavy frosts I tend to leave the top growth on over the winter and it provides an umbrella effect to keep the frost from getting too close to those precious roots. If there are seed heads the birds can enjoy those. As soon as the plant starts sending up this years growth I cut away and compost the left overs from last year. Shrubs may lose all their leaves but you keep the branches of those on the plant year round and they just grow new leaves each year. Hope that helps