Compost heap frozen

the weather has been unusually cold but I do have trouble keeping my containers to a reasonable temperature. perhaps theres some heat near the centre but the top layer is frozen. my heaps are in big plastic containers which are quite tall. I suppose it doesn't matter much ?

any suggestions how to get it going again

 

Hi Johnny, yes I'm sure your compost bins are frozen - everything else is.
I don't think you can do anything but wait for better weather and then put some male urine on them. That will get them going again.

 

One thing you could try is covering the containers with black plastic with bubble wrap under it. It won't make a vast amount of difference, but it will make a slight amount which is better than nothing.

 

I cannot see the point. You are using cold composting methods as most gardeners do. they might get warm straight after putting green stuff in but it does not last long and most rotting takes place at normal temperatures - takes about a year.
For hot composting you need a very large heap - we are talking metres and metres across. Commercial operators use tractors to turn them and it produces so much heat that the snow would not make that much difference.