Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. It's easy to make and use.
Why compost?
To reduce your impact on the environment
There are lots of good reasons to compost. It saves money, saves resources, can help to improve your soil and can reduce your impact on the environment.
Research has found that almost half of the food waste in the average rubbish bin could have been composted. You can do your bit to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or other more costly forms of treatment by composting your food and garden waste at home.
To enrich your soil and feed your plants
Your compost is a nutrient-rich food product for your garden and will help improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels, and keep your soil's pH balance in check while helping to suppress plant disease.
It will have everything your plants need including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and it will help buffer soils that are very acidic or alkaline.
Compost improves your soil's condition and your plants and flowers will love it!
Good to know
Did you know, composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months?
How to start composting
- 1
Find the right site - ideally site your bin in a reasonably sunny place on bare soil. Choose somewhere you can easily add ingredients to the bin and get the compost out.
- 2
Gather the right ingredients - save everything from vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells to go in your compost bin. Never compost cooked food, meat or fish.
- 3
Fill it up - Place these items along with your garden waste into your compost bin. A 50/50 mix of greens and browns is the perfect recipe for good compost.
- 4
Wait a while - it takes between nine to twelve months for your compost to become ready for use. Keep on adding greens and browns to top up your compost.
- 5
Check if it is ready - once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material, resembling thick, moist soil and gives off an earthy, fresh aroma, you know it's ready to use.
- 6
Remove the compost - lift the bin slightly or open the hatch at the bottom and scoop out the fresh compost with a garden fork, spade or trowel.
- 7
Get spreading - don't worry if your compost looks a little lumpy with twigs and bits of eggshell, this is perfectly normal. Use it to enrich borders and vegetable patches, plant up patio containers or feed the lawn.