Composting guide
Why compost?
31% of all waste in the Borough could be composted. Finished compost is excellent garden fertilizer and it costs nothing. Making garden and food waste into compost cuts down on the rubbish that has to be transported to landfill sites.
What is composting?
Composting is a natural process which converts organic waste into an earthlike mass by means of bacteria and micro-organisms. The composting process is supported by larvae, wood lice, beetles, worms and other such creatures. Moisture and oxygen are the other important factors in the composting process. Heat is generated during the composting process, making the temperature in the composter rise to around 50° Celsius. At this temperature micro-organisms flourish, enabling the composting process to proceed more rapidly.
Compost can save you money
- Provides a free soil conditioner,
- Helps soil retain moisture - reducing water consumption
Compost can help your garden
- Improve plant health and growth - increasing yields of fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs;
- Increases nutritional quality of home grown foods,
- Reduces reliance on toxic chemicals and pesticides.
Compost can improve our environment
- Converts waste into a valuable resource
- Reduces reliance on landfilling of waste
- Recycles nutrients back into the soil
Waste suitable for composting
- Garden wastes: grass cuttings, leaves, non-woody prunings, flower and vegetable remains.
- Uncooked kitchen wastes: vegetables, fruit peelings and cores, tea leaves and bags, eggshells.
- Other material: paper and cardboard, animal manure, sawdust, seaweed, wood fire ash.
Waste unsuitable for composting
- Woody garden clippings: branches, roots
- Some garden wastes: items recently sprayed with pesticides, pine needles, thorny cuttings, weeds, seeds
- Kitchen wastes: meat, dairy foods, fats, oils or grease
Materials which cannot be composted
Glass, metals, plastics