You want to empty your Compostabin when:-
  it is full and the contents have stopped shrinking down so that you can’t get any more compostible        material in
  or you want to use some of the compost that is ready at the bottom

You can empty your bin twice a year in the late spring and in the autumn.

To find out whether there is made compost at the bottom you will need to lift up the bin and have a look. The bin is designed so that when you lift it up the contents stay together in a neat pile. THEY DO NOT FALL APART. The bin is not heavy but may be slightly wedged by the weight of compost inside so give it a gentle wriggle if it will not lift up easily.

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Plastic composters without a hatch
These bins can be hard to get hold of now, but are the simplest and best units to use. Simply lift the bin up and off the heap. This will stay together neatly, it’s like turning out a sandcastle. Put the empty bin beside the heap and fork back into it the material that hasn’t rotted down. By turning the compost over like this, you mix in air and this speeds up the composting process. You then shovel up the finished compost from the bottom of the original heap.

Plastic bins with a hatch
These are now the most widely available bins. You are invited to remove the hatch and shovel up the compost that’s ready. But when you’ve removed some compost, you’ll find that the resulting hole is immediately filled with material that isn’t yet ready for use. You will also find it hard to remove all the compost at the bottom of the bin as your shovel probably won’t reach the far corners. If the bin is no larger than 330 litres, we recommend removing the bin from its pile as described for a bin without a hatch.
Use the hatch to check how the things are going at the bottom of the bin.

Square or hexagonal plastic bins
These come as flat packs that you’ll have assembled. The sides are held together with long plastic pins that fit through eyes on the vertical sides. Remove one pin and you can then swing one side like a door.
You fork the uncomposted material to one side and this gives you access to the well rotted compost at the bottom. Then slip the pin through its retaining eyes and fork back the material you don’t want to use just now. Again this turning will inject air into the heap and speed up the composting process.

A New Zealand Box
This has two bays. You will have filled one with kitchen and garden rubbish in 2006 and covered it with a wooden or plastic lid. Sheets of cardboard or bubble wrap improve insulation. We no longer recommend using old carpets as there is some evidence that synthetic chemicals from the carpet can leach into the compost, thereby contaminating it. Regular turning will increase the temperature in the box and improve the quality of the compost but it is hard work.
Dig out the compost from this bay. The bay is now cleared for this year’s rubbish!
(A good idea is to turn last year’s half-digested compost by forking it into the empty bay.)

Let your garden enjoy your compost!

See our Organic Gardening section for lots of ways of using your wonderful compost

Find recipes for Potting and Seed Mixes in DIY Compost Mixes and Making your own potting mixes