Why compost?

Why Compost?

Composting is Good for Our Gardens

Composting is an amazing way of turning a potential pollutant – food and garden waste – into a useful resource. By creating compost, we can feed the soil, which feeds our plants, which then break down and feed the soil again.

Composting is Good for the Environment

When our food scraps end up on landfill sites, they decompose anaerobically, which means without oxygen. This process produces the greenhouse gas methane, and also leachate, which pollutes our groundwater.

By composting, we break this waste down aerobically – that means with air – while making a great resource for our gardens and locking carbon into the soil in a stable, non-polluting form.

Some Ideas for Composting

A traditional compost heap is easy to create and maintain. You can make one yourself out of wood or chicken wire or if you prefer, you can buy one from your local garden centre. You might even be able to get one for free from your local council.

You can add all sorts of organic waste to your compost heap, the more diverse the better.

Things to include are:

• Uncooked fruit and vegetable scraps
• Crushed egg shells
• Garden waste, but leave out invasive weeds, such as bindweed
• Cardboard (including egg boxes)
• Newspaper
• Paper
• Teabags (but make sure the bags are plastic-free)
• Coffee grounds
• Grass clippings

Note: Do not compost cooked food, meat or dairy, as this will encourage pests.