Paul Ostrof said:

Is it better to keep a compost pile in the sun or in the shade?

It's best to keep a compost pile where it's convenient. That's far more
important than the sun or shade issue. Build them right, and they heat
from within.

Tree roots can invade from quite a distance. Once more reason to build
hot pile with some sort of aeration grates underneath.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)