Compost is an aerobic system - the microbes in your bin require oxygen to survive. To ensure that your compost heap has enough air, you need to break up any clumps that might exclude air.

It's also important to keep the pile loose as this will help air to circulate. You can also punch holes in the container or you can insert a slotted agricultural pipe into the heap.

Lastly, add some compost worms - you'll need about 2000 of them to start!

Compost needs two types of food - 'browns' and 'greens':

'Browns' include dry materials such as straw, autumn leaves, ash, dolomite, cardboard, paper, wood chips and sawdust.

'Greens' include wet materials such as grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, green leaves, coffee grounds, tea bags and fresh horse manure.