Tips & How To Guides

We had an interesting enquiry today from a new user about to set up the HOTBIN in Spain on how to compost human hair and orange peelings. “I have just ordered one [HotBin] for southern Spain. My hairdresser is happy to provide bags of hair. Is hair in large quantities ok? Also ...

CAN I USE THE HEAT FROM THE HOTBIN COMPOSTING TO HEAT MY HOUSE, WATER OR GREENHOUSE? Several customers have asked questions about heat recovery and using the heat from HOTBIN composting to heat water or heat the greenhouse.  Here is a quick summary of the answers: Can I recover the ...

Waste “Too Wet” to Hot Compost Occasionally it can be a struggle to get the HOTBIN up to 60C. One of the most common issues is the waste is “too wet” for hot composting. In this post we explain what this means and how to fix it. What does ‘too ...

To get fast superb results when composting grass lawn mowings in the HOTBIN:  Add 40 parts grass with 20 parts shredded paper and 1 part wood chip (bulking agent) Typically this is a medium sized lawn mower collection box (40 litres) with a full carrier bag of shredded paper (20 ...

Taking your Base layer out of the HOTBIN. This will be your first batch of HOTBIN compost. Our friends at Waldringfield Community Composting and a bunch of new customers who joined in Autumn have been busy composting away for around 12 weeks. They are now ready to have a look to see if ...

If you have got a steamed up thermometer, Here’s a quick and simple remedy: Take it out of the HOTBIN – wash it under the tap to get rid of the compost. Dry with a kitchen towel. Turn it upside down and place on radiator (hot!) for 48 hours. (If you ...

COMPOST BULKING AGENT – WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO I NEED IT?  We have already mentioned a little bit about Bulking Agent in a previous post and STRESSED that it is an essential part of the HOTBIN composting mix. It aides hot composting by helping to retain a structure which helps get oxygen ...

THE HOTBIN IS CAPABLE OF WORKING AT 40-60C ALL THROUGH WINTER. Even when the outside temperatures of falls to -15C. To achieve this, you will need to: Add waste regularly – at least once a week Add at least 5Kg/week (2 small, or 1 large caddy) Ensure you add lots ...

In this post we aim to help you manage the collection of kitchen waste that is going to be added to your HOTBIN. Collecting food waste in the kitchen has inherent problems as it can become smelly, containers can become mouldy and the caddy can attract flies. Here are our ...

Can I add urine to my HOTBIN? We agree urine  works well for cold composting, but it is not good in the HOTBIN. This is due to the nature of removing excess water during the hot composting process. Many gardening and composting sites recommend adding urine onto compost heaps to ...