"I've been using the HOTBIN for over two years—first testing it at a commercial compost warehouse and now in my backyard. My experience has been incredibly positive.

Coming from the food scrap collection industry, my biggest concern was rats and squirrels. I routinely see squirrels destroy hard plastic buckets, but my HOTBIN remains completely intact and uncompromised. It passed the pest test with flying colors.

I am also highly impressed by the functional design. It mimics the 'static aeration' method used at some commercial facilities– by drawing fresh air from below and filtering it through the organic material, it eliminates the need to constantly tumble and turn. I layer my kitchen scraps with shredded brown paper to maintain a good nutrient mix in the pile– and the HOTBIN gets hot and stays hot. Even through brutal Chicago winters, it is visibly steaming.

The end product is thoroughly decomposed—much more so than with any other backyard composter I've used. Even tough items like avocado and mango pits break down completely and go straight into my garden. While you do want to be mindful not to damage the bin’s insulated structure when shoveling out your compost, the results are just great." 

Jeremy Barrows is a sustainability professional in the Greater Chicago area with extensive experience in operations, logistics, and organic waste management. Formerly with Collective Resource Compost and now The Urban Canopy, he has coordinated the transport of thousands of tons of organic waste to several state-of-the-art composting facilities that use various methods to return it to productive use.