Compost

Friends of the Earth state “10 million tonnes of food goes to waste in the UK every year. That's as weighty as about 790,000 double-decker buses.” According to the Garden Organic website around 40 percent of the average dustbin contents are suitable for home composting.

 

Having a compost heap or bin in your garden to repurpose your food scraps is a brilliant way of reducing your impact from your food waste. Referred to as “Black Gold” creating your own compost is a very cost-effective way of returning nutrients to your soil.

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When creating compost you can add kitchen scraps, waste from your garden such as lawn cuttings or hedge cuttings and cardboard or woody stems. Having a mix of ingredients (green and brown) is very important as you need a mix of materials that are rich in carbon and nitrogen.

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You should never add cooked food, meat or fats to your compost heap as those will attract pests such as rats.#

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I have a compost heap made out of some old fence and chicken wire. It doesn’t have to be fancy if you search online there are many ideas including using pallets.

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Some links to resources to help create your own compost heap include…

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How to make compost - Which?

How to start composting | The RSPB

BBC - Gardening - Gardening Guides - Techniques - Making compost

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Your local library will have some great gardening books with tips on creating a compost heap or who could say it better than the expert Monty Don… How to Make Compost - BBC Gardeners World Magazine