Review: recycling waste in a small household
"Thanks to our small garden, we tracked down the HOTBIN, and fortunately, the performance is much better than council-subsidized bins."
Looking for an urban composting solution for their small new-build house, Ben and his wife wanted to support their commitment to a healthy lifestyle by recycling their waste and composting more at home.
As enthusiastic vegetable and herb growers, their city garden also contains a mix of shrubs, herbs, wildflowers, bulbs, clematis, hedges, and a small lawn.
Composting in a small city garden
After shunning composting systems that required a lot of space, the couple chose the HOTBIN composting system. This system suited their needs for a small city garden better, both in terms of space and function. The closed design also reduces the risk of attracting pests.
What have we composted?
Previously, all green waste was collected by the council, and food waste unfortunately went to landfill. However, after purchasing the HOTBIN in August 2016, the couple started recycling vegetable and fruit peels, tea bags, eggshells, grass, prunings, weeds, and even courgette and tomato plants at the end of the season. Occasionally, they asked their neighbors for grass clippings, which caused the temperature in the HOTBIN to rise to 65 °C, with steam coming from the top air vent.
"To make the process run more smoothly, we bought a small 5-litre bucket so we could keep peels, eggshells, and tea bags separate. We hung a bag on the back of the kitchen door to collect toilet roll tubes, egg cartons, and torn paper, including our old copies of Private Eye. We found that adding a layer of torn egg cartons and toilet roll tubes to the sides of the green bucket (before using it) prevents the vegetable peels from sticking to the sides, and it also immediately absorbs some of the excess moisture."
Less waste, lower temperatures
In a household of two people, no cooked food waste is thrown away, so the amount of waste going into the HOTBIN is on the lower side, resulting in average composting temperatures of between 20 °C and 40 °C. These lower temperatures mean that tea bags and eggshells take longer to break down, composting times are longer, and a few wild tomato plants have been found in the compost because the HOTBIN temperature was not high enough to kill the seeds.
Our composting experience
“Overall, we are very satisfied with the resulting compost and get a large batch every six months. The worms in the bottom, cooler layers are also doing a great job with the material, and occasionally I catch some worms trying to escape towards the top and put them in the garden.
The compost had positive effects when used in the garden, with the hedges and clematis all doing very well, and the compost has also improved the organic matter in the very inert new-build soil.”
The couple experienced a few problems using the HOTBIN. The first problem was ensuring enough paper was added to the mix to prevent too much leachate from leaking out of the bin and to prevent foul odors. The second involved harvesting the compost, which they found a bit tricky without the top layers falling down. They solved this by choosing to empty the entire HOTBIN, sorting it manually, and then refilling the HOTBIN. For anyone experiencing this issue, we recommend reading our tips on removing compost.
“The amount of waste sent to landfill has been significantly reduced, and we are now also consciously trying to reduce our non-recyclable packaging waste, as this is more noticeable in the absence of food waste.
I will (and have) recommended the HOTBIN. The only significant drawback is the price tag, especially compared to the council-subsidized waste bins, but because we have a small garden, we opted for the HOTBIN and fortunately, the performance is definitely much better."
