My garden waste recycling bin, is steaming hot and the grass clippings almost too hot to touch ?

[Starfishswimmer]

wtf ! Scared it’s going. To catch fire !

shall I put loads of water in it or something ?

Is it becoming silage? So almost fermenting.

Compost!

When was it emptied last

Add some water and turn it thoroughly with a fork

If it gets too hot, it'll kill off the 'good guys'.

www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/basics/overheated-compost-piles.htm

You're making compost by accident. Compost does get pretty hot

I can hardly pick it up it’s so hot !

Open the lid, and if you can, give it a mix.

The grass that got bit was over grown and long and wet

Don't put water in it. Compost heaps get hot as everything rots down and they need to be about 70c to be working well. Have you turned it recently to get air through it? Got a decent mix of green and browns in it. You're on the fast track to good compost.
It's very unlikely to catch fire so you and you've got it well.mixed and turned

I don’t care about killing off the good guys it’s in a plastic wheelie bin for the garden waste

That’s just what grass cuttings do, they are best mixed in with other garden waste. We always mix our brown bin with a garden fork after emptying the lawn mower.

I just scared it going to set on fire

It's basically starting to ferment. I'd leave the lid open to let heat escape and move well away from any buildings etc.

Compost heaps or grass cuttings in bins aren't commonly known for combusting. They do get hot, but won't go on fire.

I've known a few manure heaps get so hot they start to smoulder in the middle. The smell is - er - unmistakable.

My compost heap gets very hot and smokes fairly regularly. It has never burst into flames or anything though.

When was it last emptied?

It can get pretty hot.

we have had many anxious years over the years after making hay or silage in less than ideal conditions (too damp) and worrying if it will spontaneously combust as a result. It's come pretty close a few times and we've found bales scorched in the middle when we've opened them up to feed animals in winter.

there's a bit of an explanation here

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-28558555

If you're worried, @Starfishswimmer, just get a garden fork in there and give it a bit of a stir up.
Generally, it would be fine in the grand scheme of things, even if you left it alone. It would have to be seriously hot to generate any temperature that would cause any damage.

A friend who works for the Council said that one summer the garden bins were literally melting into puddles on the pavement because of the heat of the compost inside and the heat of the sun on the outside.

Open the lid and put it in the shade.

Quite normal, it’s fermenting. If you ever see a muck heap at a stables, it steams. A mate used to go and shove her feet in it during winter when we were doing jobs round the horses.

Your grass clippings are unlikely to catch fire, they’re probably too damp, but as a pp says, open the lid and put somewhere safe.

Brigante she shoved her feet in it?!

Keep it over the winter to heat your home and cut down your energy bills?

Have the Council emptied it yet..?

don't put grass clippings in the green bin!
use them as mulch- spread them out between plants or under hedges or trees