Retrospective - HOT COMPOSTING

It was an exciting day mid-May (23rd) when the much-anticipated Hot Composter was delivered! Yep – that’s how my life rolls!

To me, it looks like a version of the Tardis but a little more discreet, at the edge of the veg patch.  The traditional compost site took over premium space and therefore by purchasing the Hot Composter it has released an area for all the extra detritus that seems to accumulate!  Well, it’s not rubbish as such, but all the additional flotsam that is used at some point in the gardening year but needs to be just stored for a few months too.  So, the new composter has given a new purpose at the end of the shed and houses the wheelbarrow, a few large buckets and several plant-trays. Let’s not mention the bamboo canes, home-made supports and random pots!

The new  composter is manufactured by HOTBIN and the product “is made from a resource-efficient fully recyclable material called ARPRO, known more commonly as expanded polypropylene (EPP). HOTBIN consists of just 4% raw material and 96% air”. In effect it insulates the heat, locking it in like a thermos; the walls lock in naturally produced heat generated by the bacterial process; no turning, accelerators or external power source required.  Therefore, with temperatures of reaching between 40-60°C naturally.  These temperatures are achieved as bacteria breakdown waste and produce heat as a by-product of decomposition.

Waste such as cooked food, small bones and weeds is quickly and efficiently reduced to  an end product of wonderful peat-free compost in as little as 30-90 days.  Not bad when our traditional composting would usually have a one-year cycle.  

Ultimately this means that less waste is sent to landfill and:

“Did You Know? Composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months?”

In 2019 the updated HOTBIN 200 Litres was launched alongside the new HOTBIN Mini 100 Litres and was awarded the RHS Chelsea Garden Product of the Year 2019.

Check out:  HOT COMPOSTING