Let’s Waste Less and Get Composting

Only 1 in 4 households compost their green waste, yet around 40% of the average waste bin could be composted. Along with other garden waste, this could provide a garden with its own free, organic growing material! Emissions from trucks and processing are also reduced and it means less peat based compost is being purchased. Extracting peat destroys wildlife habitats and releases thousands of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Each year tonnes of home compostable waste are disposed of in residents’ bins, or even worse, the recycling bins, which can contaminate a whole load. This is a waste of a good resource and of taxpayers’ and councils’ money.

The golden rule is to get the right balance of “greens” (which are nitrogenrich, moist and rot down very quickly) and “browns” (which are carbon-rich but take longer to break down on their own). Get this right and you don’t even need to turn it to add air. If you add too much green or food waste, the contents of your compost bin could become slimy and smelly. Mixing browns to it, provides structure and airflow as well as helping to absorb excessive moisture. For information on what is a good mix for your bin visit www.letswasteless.com.

There are many different types of compost bin and “hot” bins which compost all food waste, some of which are subsidised by Worcestershire County Council via Get Composting at www.getcomposting.com. n