Community composting covers a wide range of composting activities.  An  allotment community composting scheme which takes organic waste produced on the site and composts it for use on the site reduces the need to have bonfires, waste sent to landfill and can be used to make Society members more aware of the need to protect the environment and reduce global warming. Such a scheme requires little time. Our scheme takes less than 5 hours a week for a 60-plot allotment. and virtually no expenditure is required if pallet bins are used. 

Unlike many  Community Composting sites an  allotment scheme which only  composts waste generated on the allotments for use of the allotments  does not result in a change of use, additional traffic, or a potential nuisance. And does not require planning permission.  All that has happened is that most of the composting, which is a desirable and normal part of allotment gardening, is taking place at a central point rather than on each individual plot. However,  it does require  a permit under Waste  legislation, but   most allotment Community Composting groups will be eligible for a T23 Exemption  Certificate (Aerobic composting and associated prior treatment) which will permit the composting of vegetation, cardboard, and food waste to produce compost. All exempt projects need to register their exemption with the Environmental Agency. This is free and may be completed online. 

It is advantageous if the composting area is arranged  so that material flows in one direction with a Clearly labelled Reception bay or bins at the entrance, followed by the sorting (and shredding) area. This are may include an area for killing perennial weeds  by  drying (we use a stack of 5 commercial bread trays) and drowning (a dustbin of water). The actual compost bins form the next stage. Banks of at least three pallet bins are recommended enabling the materials to be turned from one bin to the next. Using a bank of four allows the compost to be turned once a week for a month before being moved to a maturation area. Alternatively, several single bins, of at least 1cu metre, can be used where the materials are added in layers and left a year to decompose without turning .Additional storage near the bins may be required for additional browns e.g., cardboard, shredded paper or dried leaves, manure (if used as an activator), and bulking agent such as woodchip.

 The final requirement is space for a sieving area and a collection point for the finished compost.

This is the final post in the Composting Comparison series. Day 33

The  photo shows the contents of the three separate “bins” Bin A is layered materials that have not been mixed at all during the process. Bins B ( layered) and C (layered plus worms)   where mixed regularly during the initial stages (see previous photos on the Carryoncomposting.com blog or Facebook pages.

 Bin A which was not aerated shows the least change. It is also wet as the bins have no drainage holes.

Bins B and C The contents of bins that where turned  are similar with the one containing the worms being slightly more decomposed.

The main lesion from this little entertainment is that lockdown will soon be over at you will be welcome to visit the Composting Demonstration site at Stokes Wood Allotment. Leicester and to register to attend one of our practical sessions on Composting Garden and Household waste, Cooked Food composting, Hot composting, Compost teas and liquid feeds, Bokashi and wormeries. Email carryoncomposting@gmail.com for details

We now have our new Hotbin Mk2  compost bin  installed and in use ready for when the Composting  Demostration  site reopens. We use our Hotbins  as one of the systems for dealing with cooked food waste from the cafe. We use these as dual purpose bins for  food and  garden waste and bulking agent, The Jora (Joraform) is used when we need to compost just   food waste (and bulking agent) 

The Hotbin is supplied in two sizes 200 and 100 litre. It  is  designed for the year round composting of garden and kitchen waste, including cooked food.  The Hotbin is made of insulating material (polypropylene) and if used correctly will operate at 40 - 60⁰C reaching 70⁰C on occasions.

 The compost bin is fitted with a thermometer which allows the temperature at the top of the bin to be constantly monitored and can be  supplied with an addition thermometer to allow the temperature of the compost to be measured. A ventilation flap (valve) is also fitted to allow the temperature to be moderated. 

Regular monitoring of the temperature provides an indication as to when fresh food needs to be added i.e., when the compost cools to less than 40C but I would recommend the routine addition of  about 10 litre of material weekly.  The bin should be fed the contents of a 5 litre caddy twice a week plus 2-3 handfuls of shredded paper and 1-2 handfuls of woodchip as a bulking agent to help maintain airflow. This gives 1 part woodchip :10 parts food waste

I have found that it is relatively easy to keep the Hotbin operating during the winter provided it is fed regularly. The Hotbin lid thermometer measures the temperature of the steam rising from the composting material  and  unless the bin  is over half full it will record a  temperature 10-20°C below that of the most active part of the composting material.   A  long stem thermometer should be used to obtain  accurate measurement of the working temperature in  the  most active layer of waste between 5-10cm from the surface. More info on food waste composting click on the  link   Composting Food

For details of trasessions on Cooked Food composting contact carryoncomposting@gmail.com

Photo of bin in domestic setting provided by Hotbin

The photo shows one of our three sided pallet bins containing compost made in the autumn of last year.  I found a rat in the   about a month ago and now have had a larger visitor. We have badgers on the site  and this looks to be a badger size hole but on this occasion there is none of the usual digging in the woodchip paths. If not a badger has anyone had foxes digging in their bins?

We now have the Subpod wormery up and running in a raised bed at the Compost Demonstration site at Stokes Wood Allotment. Leicester. In addition to using it as an additional means of dealing with garden waste we will be comparing  the two halves of the raised bed to see whether there are a significant additional number of worms in the half with the Subpod and will hope to see whether this makes any  difference to the crops.