Composting case studies

Sallie, who is 28 and from Northamptonshire, was keen to reduce the amount of food waste she was putting in her bin but felt that her small backyard wasn’t suitable for a compost bin. She decided to try a wormery instead and ordered one from the Recycle Now website 

Says Sallie: “I am not very practical, so I was pleased to find that the wormery was pretty easy to assemble. The most important thing is to set it up before you send off for the worms! It’s also important to make sure you always close the wormery. The morning after my worms arrived I was shocked to find that a few of them had escaped because I hadn’t put the lid on properly!”

Sallie is thrilled to be getting rid of her kitchen waste in such an environmentally friendly way. She also thinks that worms make great pets. “They make very few demands – I feed them regularly and when it is really cold I wrap their house in bubble wrap. They reward me with wonderfully rich, liquid compost that I use on my house plants. And unlike most pets, if you go away for a couple of days you don’t need to ask friends to look after them!”

• Worms can eat and digest up to half their own body weight each day.
• The casts they produce contain top quality compost and a concentrated liquid feed.
• Ideal for those with a small outdoor/garden space or for those looking for an alternative to a compost bin.
• Can provide a useful backup for those who want small quantities of very rich compost

Carys, 31, lives in Aylesbury with husband Michael. They have been composting for about 4 years, and more recently bought a wormery which sits on their patio.

“It all started when we landscaped our garden about 4 years ago” says Carys. “We were producing so much garden waste, so I contacted the council to find out about the best way to get rid of it. They recommended I purchase a compost bin from them which was far easier than having to drive to the tip.

“We have a small garden but the compost bin isn’t noticeable – we have hidden it behind some wooden trellising at the back of the garden. The compost bin has never been hard work to maintain either, I don’t really need to do anything to it. I compost pretty much everything I can – from egg shells to the bedding from my hamster cage, it’s really easy, and so satisfying!

“I also recently purchased a wormery for my patio so we tend to put our vegetable peelings in there, and more bulky waste in the compost bin.”

Carys has noticed a real difference in the quality of the soil in the garden since she has started using the compost. “The earth in the area is pretty bad for growing – it’s like clay – so rather than spending a fortune on top soil I dig the compost into the ground and it’s really improved. I have successfully grown tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, chillies, peppers, runner beans, peas, strawberries and more.”