In Sweden, the JK 270 was tested and evaluated in a project comprising 466 households in small houses and apartment blocks and kindergartens. The Swedish Authority for Environment Conservation judged the performance of the machines "most satisfactory".

In England, the JK 270 was recently independently tested - see the report on page 6 of Devon�s Community Recycling & Community Composting Networks newsletter.  Download the DCR Spring 07 Newsletter here or from the the drop-down menu above.

With a JK125 or JK270 composter, you don't have to be a gardener to be able to produce your own nutritious compost. The JK125/270 lets you make perfect compost from your kitchen waste hygienically and quickly, with the minimum of fuss and mess.

The key features of the JK125/270 composter are:

• Ease of rotation
• Insulating properties
• Dual compartments
• Rodent-proof design

Regular mixing is necessary for successful composting for two reasons:

• Fresh waste is brought into direct contact with decaying waste, increasing the efficiency of the process,
• Air is allowed into the mixture, providing the oxygen that is vital for the process

The composting process generates heat, and the different micro-organisms start working at different temperatures. The insulation in the JK125/270 composter allows the temperature to rise higher than 160^oF (70^oC), resulting in the quickest and most efficient composting of your organic kitchen waste.  At these temperatures the process is so rapid that fresh waste starts to break down before it has a chance to rot and attract vermin and flies. 

Because of its integral insulation, the JK125/270 will continue working through winter, long after other composters have stopped completely.

The JK125/270 is divided into two compartments. One is being filled while the compost in the other matures. Once the compartment being filled can take no more, the mature compost is emptied from the other compartment, and the cycle begins again.

You can see from the photo that it's time to empty the mature compost from the left-hand compartment and start filling it again, leaving the right-hand compartment to continue composting to maturity (a metal plate is supplied to blank off the just-filled compartment so you only empty the mature side!).

The JK 125/270 is sited off the ground so there is no possibility of rodents or other pests gaining access to the waste in the machine.

The JK 125/270 composter will accept all organic waste generated by a regular household:

• raw and cooked food scraps - vegetable, meat or fish
• cardboard, e.g. egg trays
• garden waste (except hard, woody stems and branches)
  

In fact, anything biodegradable - even pet waste, e.g. your rabbit or hamster bedding.

In addition to the waste, which has a high nitrogen content, a source of carbon must be added to provide an energy source for the microorganisms. This is done by adding sawdust or wood pellets (which are simply compressed sawdust) when adding the waste. Add woodpellets in the ratio of 10:1 (waste to pellets) by volume. Add sawdust in the ratio of 3:1 waste to sawdust. The sawdust/wood pellets also absorb moisture, keeping the mixture relatively dry. Wood shavings are not as successful as they do not absorb the moisture to the same degree as sawdust or pellets. Coir (coconut fibre) can also be used, as can dry, chopped straw.

Note to cat owners: wood pellets are also available as cat litter, so this is an excellent environmentally-friendly way of disposing of your cat waste!

It will take somewhere in the region of 6 to 8 weeks for each chamber from starting to fill to production of compost - so once both chambers are in operation you should be emptying one chamber every 3-4 weeks or so.

Download the Operating Manual from the drop-down manual at the top of each page.

To give you a good idea of the relative sizes, here is a side-by-side comparison of the JK 125 and JK 270.

Note that the machines are delivered flat-packed (like all things Swedish!) but are not difficult to assemble.  Download the assembly instructions from the drop-down menu at the top of each page.

These are typical results from the JK 125/270.  We produced this during the winter when temperatures got down to below 20^oF. It took us about 4 weeks to fill one compartment, which was then 'maturing' for a further 4 weeks while the other was filled - a total of 8 weeks from starting to fill with kitchen waste into its transformation into the material you see above. During the summer the process will only take about 6 weeks.  This compost needs no further finishing and can be applied directly onto the garden as a soil improver or mulch.  It has the same nutritional value as cow manure.