How HOTBIN Works
What are the Core Principles of Composting?
Composting is a natural process. It will happen under a huge range of environmental conditions. However, to get it working fast, you need four key conditions (food, warmth, oxygen and water) to be optimal - the HOTBIN obeys these principles and is dominated by bacteria - 'happy' bacteria deliver fast and successful composting.
Bacteria Are at Their Happiest When They Have:
Food
Bacteria need waste to eat. No waste = No bacterial activity = No heat produced. Bacteria digests different wastes at different speed. Lots of easy to digest food results in fast quick heat release, slow to digest waste results in slow heat release.
Water
Bacteria need water to both grow and to help with digestion. If there is too little water the bacteria are unable to grow; if there is too much water, the waste becomes soggy and it block the air flow which restricts the oxygen the bacteria need.
Oxygen
Aerobic bacteria need oxygen. If there is not enough oxygen, their anaerobic cousins take over and create a stink and release methane (X24 GHG potency!).
Warmth
Bacteria digests waste 32 times faster at 60°c than at 10°c. As a rule of thumb, using 30 days in a month, if it takes 12 months in a cold heap at 10°c it will take 12 days in the HOTBIN running at 60°c.
