What is composting?
Composting is a natural and inexpensive process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden.
The process that takes place in your home compost bin or heap is a replica of nature's very own recycling process. All you need to do is create the right environment for the process to take place which involves a mixture of heat, moisture, air and materials.
A good compost bin has a good mix of materials both 'green' and 'brown'. 'Greens' consist of things like teabags, grass cuttings, vegetable peelings and coffee grounds. For your 'browns' you need cardboard, scrunched up paper, fallen leaves, twigs, branches and bark. When you get the recipe right you'll produce the best compost.
Why should we compost?
- It reduces the amount of waste going to landfill! Even for the thousands of households already composting, new research has found, that almost half of the food waste in their rubbish bins could have been composted.
- Composting at home for just 1 year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually or your washing machine produces in 3 months.
- You may think that your food waste will break down in landfill but the air is unable to get to the organic waste. This means as the waste breaks down it creates the harmful green house gas, Methane, which damages our atmosphere.
- When the same waste is composted above ground at home oxygen helps the waste decompose aerobically which means hardly any methane is produced, which is good news for the environment. Plus, after 9-12 months you get a free fertiliser for your garden and plant pots to keep them looking their very best.
- It slims your bin!
- Reduces the need to water your garden
- Replaces the need to use chemical fertilisers and pesticides
- Replaces the need to use peat from fast disappearing peat bogs
Compost bins
Warwickshire County Council has a special offer on compost bins where you can purchase them with a significant discount. They also have lots of information to help get you started. The bins are made from 100% recycled plastic.
Recyclenow also have really good information for all your home composting needs - from setting up your bin to ways of using your compost, you can even contact them directly for advice.
Home Composting - other options
As well as your conventional compost bin/ heap there are other options available, especially if you would like to be able to compost cooked vegetables, meat and dairy products at home.
- Wormeries - If you have little garden waste, or would like to be able to compost all food waste, a wormery can be a good option. You can even use along side your conventional composter. It's a box system that contains composting worms that love to eat your kitchen waste.
- Green Cones - Can take all household food waste. The green cone uses solar heating between the inner and outer cones to promote air circulation. The waste is converted into water, carbon dioxide and a very small amount of residue - which only needs to be removed every few years. Warwickshire County Council are currently offering half price green cones. Available till stocks last!
- Green Johanna - Is a hot composting container. It has a cone shape design with a ventilation system that ensures heat is spread evenly through the composter. It has a lockable lid and the compost temperature can be adjusted and controlled which means all of your food waste can be composted. Green Cone Ltd have more information on these products.
- Bokashi - Japanese for "fermented organic matter" turns all of your food waste into a rich compost. It uses Bokashi Bran which is material made with a culture of micro-organisms and molasses which activate the composting process. The bucket is small and neat with an airtight lid so there are no smells or flies, so it can even be kept in your kitchen. These are also available via Warwick County Council's compost bins under 'additional bins and accessories'.
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