HOME COMPOSTING HELP

 

If you are want to get into home composting here are some links that you will find useful.


Why compost

Whether you try composting at home, or take advantage of your local council’s green waste collection facilities you’ll make a big difference. Any biodegradable waste sent to landfill is food for bacteria that release methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas 22 times more powerful than carbon dioxide and this is why it is so important to keep garden and park clippings out of landfill.

 

Getting started

If you want to try composting at home, I’d recommend getting a book from the local library first to see what is involved (or check out the links below) and only then selecting the size and type of compost bin for your garden; DIYers can have a go at building their own. Once you have the bin in your garden and you are feeding it the right mix of “greens” (for example: vegetable peelings, fruit, teabags, plant pruning and grass cuttings) and “browns” (for example: cardboard egg boxes, scrunched up paper and fallen leaves) you’ll be making great quality compost to spread over your flower beds in no time at all.

 

Spreading the word

If there are any compost associations, community compost schemes or other expert composters out there that would like to link from our compost section or can offer advice, send an email to recycling@premierwaste.com describing what you do and giving your web address.

 

 

Here are some sites you might find useful
 

  • The Recycle Now website has a special composting section full of practical advice: find it here.
  • This site is aimed at allotments and has lots of information about composting: find it here.
  • This how-to video by the nonprofit group Kitchen Gardeners International shows you step-by-step instructions for successful organic composting: find it here.
  • Here is another good video explaining how to compost: find it here.
  • Another site with lots of advice, especially useful are some tips on improving your compost: find it here.
  • Wormeries. These use a variety of types of worms to eat the food waste and make a very fine compost. Lots of advice and suppliers can be found online, if you want to get started with a wormery you might want to try here first.
  • Bokashi composting. This is a system using a special airtight bucket and bran loaded with bacteria to "pickle" a wide variety of waste including cooked food, meat and fish. Once the waste is "pickled" it can be added to your compost bin or dug into the soil at which time it breaks down very quickly. Lots of helpful advice on YouTube and online, you might want to start here.