Summary The Green Johanna is one of the hardest bins for me to review. Do I review it as one of the many plastic cone composters on the market, or as a hot composter, as the manufacturer implies when the insulated jacket is added? That ambiguity is precisely the problem, and it’s why this review…

Summary Here we describe the basic wooden compost box. There are hundreds of versions and numerous DIY self-build options. My interest in composting bins didn’t start with reviewing them — it started 15 years ago with building one. The HOTBIN composter came out of a frustrating few years with undersized, underperforming bins made from old…

Summary The Suttons 3-bay system is robust and at the premium end of the wooden compost systems. But you can DIY build something similar. My interest in large-volume composting didn’t start with reviewing bins — it started 15 years ago with designing one. The HOTBIN composter came out of a frustrating few years with undersized,…

Summary My interest in large-volume composting didn’t start with reviewing bins — it started 15 years ago with designing one. The HOTBIN composter came out of a frustrating few years with undersized, underperforming cold bins, and understanding why mixture, heat, volume and aeration interact is central to how that design evolved. That background is what…

Summary A very compact insulated bin for low‑volume food waste. The trade‑off is portability versus limited mass. Full disclosure: I designed the original HOTBIN. Keep that in mind, but read on anyway, because nobody else can tell you what I can. The HOTBIN 200 came out of the rat-infested, slow-composting frustration I described in the Dalek…

Summary A high-capacity insulated bin aimed at households generating large volumes of food waste year‑round. Full disclosure: I designed the original HOTBIN. Keep that in mind, but read on anyway, because nobody else can tell you what I can. The Mega exists because the HOTBIN 200-litre version taught us something: gardeners who got best results…

Summary Full disclosure: I designed the original HOTBIN. Keep that in mind, but read on anyway, because nobody else can tell you what I can. The HOTBIN 200 came out of that rat-infested, slow-composting frustration I described in the Dalek and wooden frame reviews. My goal was simple: build a bin that holds 40–60°C continuously,…

Summary This is one of the classic ‘Dalek’ cone compost bins. They are cheap and simple – but is that enough? By some distance the ‘Dalek’ bins like the Blackwell are the highest-selling type of compost bin of all time and the main alternative to the DIY wooden pallet frame. Adding a Dalex bin alongside…

Summary This is a generic review covering the many plastic cone ‘Dalek’ composters. These are ambient composters, generally around 300 litres in capacity with no insulation. They are aimed at gardeners seeking limited process stability and a willingness to wait 12-18 months for compost. Ah, the classic ‘Dalek’ cone compost bins. Millions sold — by…