Almost compost

[Andrew Ridsdale]

Hi I have had my hot bin since May this year. I am starting to get compost but there is a lot for shredded paper that's mixed in but is composting at a much slower rate so the compost is currently unusable. I normally compost at 40 - 50 degrees but have reached 65 when I've added chicken pellets. Should paper compost slower?

Andy

[Andrew Ridsdale]

I could really do with empting the hot bin and using it as a mulch as soon as possible as the bin is quite full and not much room for more waste. Just hope that the paper does compost ok in the end.

[Penellype]

Are you putting the paper in in layers or large handfuls? Lots of shredded paper in one place will be dry and won't compost well - it needs mixing in thoroughly. What I do is put all my waste in a large trug, add a couple of double handfuls of paper and a bit of bulking agent, then mix the whole lot together with the mixing rake before I tip it into the hotbin. I've never found lots of paper in the compost.

The other thing is, what sort of paper are you using? If it is shiny magazine paper it will not rot down very quickly. You are better sticking to white office type paper (the non shiny sort) if possible.

[Andrew Ridsdale]

Thanks for your reply I do normally just chuck it in as handfuls then turn it and try and mix it up a bit in the bin its self. But I will definitely try and mix it together beforehand in the future.

The paper is a mixture of paper I have tones of the stuff some shiny some not.

Thanks for your help.

[Andrew Ridsdale]

Do you think it's worth emptying the bin re-mix it the put it back in the bin?

[Penellype]

I think your problem is likely to be the shiny paper not rotting down as fast as everything else. I'm not sure that mixing it all up and putting it back will solve the problem. If you are going to use it as a mulch it probably won't do any harm to put it down as it is, and pick out any large lumps of paper. It won't look that pretty, so it does depend a bit on what you are going to mulch with it and how visible it is.

[Andrew Ridsdale]

I am going to just put it down as you suggested. If it stands out then I will just cover it with some shop bought mulch. Thanks for your help - it's much appreciated

[Andrew Ridsdale]

I'm going to put it down as you suggested and use it as a mulch. If it doesn't look good I will cover it with some shop bought mulch. At least that way it will go further and work well as a mulch. Thanks for you help it's much appreciated

[alanpierce]

I can advice you to use mulch