Do I Have Enough Waste For a HOTBIN?

Will I have enough waste to keep the HOTBIN hot composting?

HOTBIN Mk 2 & Mini compost aerobically and at temperatures between 40-60°C hot composting is 32 times faster than traditional cold composting. Hot composting also allows you to compost a wider variety of waste such as cooked food, bones and weeds as at these higher temperatures pathogens and weeds seeds are destroyed.

How can you achieve hot composting temperatures?

To maintain temperatures of 40-60°C you will need to feed the HOTBIN a minimum amount of waste each week, this varies depending on which model of HOTBIN you are operating.

• For the 200 litre HOTBIN Mk 2 you require approx. 5kg (10 litres) of waste, that’s one large or 2 small kitchen caddies per week.
• For the 100 litre HOTBIN Mini you require approx. 2.5kg (5 litres) of waste, that’s half a large or 1 small kitchen caddy full per week.

This volume can be made up of both kitchen and garden waste. The better the mix of waste the more effectively the HOTBIN will work.

Please note. Don't wait until you have a full caddy of waste before you feed you HOTBIN, feed you bin whatever waste you have available every couple of days.

What happens if I have less waste?

The HOTBIN will only stay hot (between 40-60°c) with regular feeding of the minimum amount of waste.

If you have less waste, you may still be able to use the HOTBIN; however it will operate at a lower temperature meaning that the waste will take longer to breakdown and you will be unable to compost certain wastes (cooked food, weeds, bones etc) as there will not be enough heat in the bin to destroy the pathogens in these types of waste.

Does it matter if the temperature falls below 40°C?

The temperature will always fluctuate, however if you can aim to keep anywhere between the 40-60°C then the HOTBIN will work most effectively.

There will be occasions where the temperature will drop lower than 40°C, for instance when you go on holiday. Follow our guidelines on how to deal with your bin before and after your holiday here.

How much food and waste does a typical household produce?

Every household is different in terms of the food and garden waste they produce. In the table below we use a simple scale of small, medium or large to act as a guide.

If you are unsure how much waste you generate in volume terms it may help to know that the average 4 person household with a medium garden generates roughly 250kg of food waste and 300-400kg of green garden waste per year. This equals approximately 500-1000 litres of waste in total per year.

Tip:

If you are looking to compost both kitchen and garden waste in the HOTBIN we would advise measuring the volume of kitchen waste rather than your ‘garden waste’ volumes. During winter most people have less garden waste and so you will need the volume of kitchen waste to keep the HOTBIN running at hot composting temperatures.