The quality of the produced compost, temperatures, moisture content etc is depending solely on
the raw material (food waste and absorbent material) and on how the machine is operated. The
manufacturer or distributor can therefore never guarantee the performance of any machine.
When the Big Hanna Composter is used to treat macerated food waste which has been dewatered the
detergents that are used for cleaning the macerator/dewaterer may contaminate the food waste and
should therefore be organic and not bio accumulating. When the food waste and sawdust / pelletised
sawdust is turned and oxygen is supplied a natural occurring biological decomposing process is
supported which produces compost within 8-12 weeks. There are numerous of excellent test results
from compost which have been produced with the Big Hanna Composter. The test results prove that it
is possible to produce excellent quality compost with the Big Hanna Composter but it does not
constitute a guarantee:
The biological process is not only dependant on the machine to function properly. The operation of
the machine, i.e. adding sawdust or wood pellets with the food waste, getting the right C:N balance,
settings of number of rotations and wait time is equally important. And even more important is the
raw material fed into the machine i.e. the food waste. If the food waste is sterilized by using chemicals,
pesticides, cold, heat or even ingredients that inhibit bacterial growth before being put into the
machine, the biological process will not be functioning properly and the capacity of the machine will
be much lower than expected. If the food waste is very wet this will also stop or slow down the
biological process. The biological process also works much better with mixed food waste i.e. not only
potatoes. A rule of thumb is that food waste that you would eat if it had not passed its expiration date
is o.k. to feed to the machine. For example:
FOOD FROM A FREEZER MUST BE THAWED BEFORE BEING FED TO THE COMPOSTER.
A 25 KG BAG OF SALT WOULD EFFECTIVELY KILL THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESS.
ADDING SAUCES OR OTHER LIQUIDS (ORGANIC OR NOT) WILL AFFECT OR KILL THE
BIOLOGICAL PROCESS.
FOOD WASTE WHICH HAS BEEN SOAKED IN DETERGENT FLUID OR SPRAYED WITH
DETERGENT IN THE KITCHEN
IF A BATCH OF FOOD IS DEEMED NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION BECAUSE IT
CONTAINS TOO MUCH PESTICIDES OR CHEMICALS THIS SHOULD NOT BE PUT INTO THE
COMPOSTER.
GARDEN WASTE THAT HAS BEEN TREATED WITH PESTICIDES WHICH ARE NOT
BIODEGRADABLE SHOULD NOT BE PUT INTO THE COMPOSTER.
WASTE MATERIAL THAT CONTAINS LARGE AMOUNTS OF VINEGAR ESSENCE WILL KILL THE
MICRO-ORGANISMS.
This list is non-conclusive and if you are having questions please contact your distributor.