Can I compost animal bones, meat and seafood?

Tuesday, 4 February 2014 | HOTBIN Composting

Most animal bones, meat and seafood can be composted, albeit at a much slower rate than other items. It is recommended that large animal bones and whole carcasses are cut into smaller pieces and that meat is cooked and in chunks before it is added to the HOTBIN in a bid to speed up their decomposition.

Bones/meat/seafood	Will it Decay	Cold Compost	HOTBIN compost	Rate of decay in the HOTBIN	Comments
Bones (chicken, duck, birds, fish)	Yes	Not Advised	Yes	Slow	Cooked bones are ok to hot compost - just ensure that larger bones are chopped into smaller pieces with secateurs.
Cockle and mussel shells	Yes	Not Advised	Yes	Slow	Carefully break shells into fragments with a hammer.
Crab and lobster shells	Yes	Not Advised	Yes	Slow	Carefully break shells into fragments with a hammer.
Eggs (chicken, ducks)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Slow	Carefully break shells into fragments.
Fish skins	Yes	Not Advised	Yes	Fast
Meat (cooked)	Yes	Not Advised	Yes	Fast	Chop it into small chunks (<4cm) - make sure there are no large bones.