Thanks to the heat produced by the bacteria, you can compost year-round with the HOTBIN. This means you can start making your own compost at any time of the year.
Get started by:
- Adding a thin layer of twigs as a base layer to promote good air circulation from the bottom up;
- Adding fresh waste afterwards (a mixture of easily and difficult-to-digest waste is best);
- Mixing this waste beforehand with sufficient shredded paper and wood chippings;
- Being patient. To generate sufficient heat in the HOTBIN, the waste must reach at least the level of the harvest hatch;
- If the outside temperature is below 15°C, use the refillable water bottle to give the HOTBIN a faster start;
The HOTBIN (200) and the HOTBIN Mini (100) are hot composters to which a variety of waste must be regularly added to promote the continuity of the hot composting process. As long as you continue to add waste regularly, you should be able to maintain hot composting temperatures during colder periods.
Do I have to compost waste all winter?
In winter, there is likely less garden waste to compost. However, this does not mean the HOTBIN should go into hibernation. If you continue to add sufficient waste, combined with wood chippings and paper, during the colder winter months, you will keep the temperature high and the composting process going. Although it may take slightly longer than 30-90 days to harvest compost from the HOTBIN due to the lower amount of garden waste, the HOTBIN still composts faster than many other composting systems. There are a number of ways to compensate for the decrease in available garden waste:
- Continue adding kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetables. Is the internal temperature below 40°C? Then avoid adding cooked food waste;
- This may sound a bit strange, but ask friends and family for waste. To keep our test HOTBINs running at the head office, we all bring in some waste from home, which keeps the HOTBINs at temperature. Furthermore, our waste donors benefit from having less waste that needs to be disposed of. A win-win if you ask us ;-) ;
- Check out our checklist with 170 materials to compost to see if you might be overlooking some good alternatives;
Using the HOTBIN refillable water bottle
Before you can use the refillable water bottle, there must be a base layer in the HOTBIN at least 40 cm deep (just above the harvest hatch).
- Carefully fill the refillable water bottle with hot water;
- Screw the lid tightly onto the bottle and take it to the HOTBIN;
- Bury the bottle in the top layer of waste and cover it with fresh waste;
- Leave the HOTBIN alone for at least 24 hours and do not open it;
- After 24 hours, check whether the lid thermometer is above 15°C.
By performing this action, the bacterial process should have been sufficiently kick-started to bring the HOTBIN back up to temperature. If this is not the case, repeat the procedure. More information on using the refillable water bottle can be found below.
Please note:
- Always wear gloves and be careful;
- The HOTBIN refillable water bottle is specially designed to be filled with hot water;
- Therefore, use only this bottle and do not replace it with another plastic or glass bottle;
- Do not pour boiling water directly into the heap.
This kick-start technique (with the refillable water bottle) only works if there is enough easy-to-compost material present. Take the human body as an example: if you eat a fiber-rich breakfast, you get constant energy throughout the day. If you drink soda and eat sweets (easily digestible food), you get a quick energy boost for a short period. This also applies to the kick-start method. If you want to get the bacteria active again, feed them as much easily digestible food as possible in combination with the refillable water bottle.
If your HOTBIN is full of woody material that is difficult to break down, no new heat will be generated. The refillable water bottle works best if the bacteria are temporarily put on a diet of fruit and vegetable scraps, soft plant material, nettles, and comfrey.
The refillable water bottle is not working sufficiently
Once you have read the information below, you will immediately know why it does or does not work:
- Heat in the HOTBIN is produced by bacterial activity as they consume the waste. More bacterial activity = more heat produced;
- Bacteria do not multiply quickly below 5°C, and certainly not at 0°C;
- When waste is cold, only a small amount of heat is created by bacteria, which is quickly lost to cold air. This is why regular compost heaps are also almost inactive during the winter;
- When you put the refillable water bottle with the waste, this heat spreads to the colder waste;
- As the bacteria warm up sufficiently, they become more active, creating even more heat;
- Thanks to the insulated walls of the HOTBIN, the heat is retained;
- Bacteria can only generate heat if they are fed enough food. So, feed them regularly with fresh waste.
Does a colder HOTBIN become anaerobic?
No, as long as the HOTBIN continues to compost the contents at a lower temperature and sufficient paper and wood chippings are added, the contents of the HOTBIN will not become anaerobic. However, if the HOTBIN begins to smell spoiled, take corrective measures.
