Food
Feed the earth
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What
Composting is easy, free and natural. It helps wiggly worms to thrive, flowers to blossom and nutritious veg to grow. Composting your food waste can save almost 150kg CO2 over the course of a year through a reduction in greenhouse gas emitted from landfill sites.
Pledge to start composting your food waste - there are even indoor solutions if you don't have outdoor space!
Benefits
For people
With landfill taxes on the up and council budgets going down, composting your organic waste is a great way to help your council save money for the things that really need it.
A bag of compost isn’t cheap, so by making your own you could treat yourself to a few extra seeds next winter.
For planet
When sent to landfill, kitchen and garden waste (organic waste) rots anaerobically. This produces methane gas, a greenhouse gas that is about 30% more potent than CO2.
However, when composted above ground, organic waste decomposes with oxygen, producing a less destructive and more useful output.
Compost made from organic waste is also much more climate-friendly than commercially produced peat-based compost, which currently makes up 55% of compost sold. Peat bogs, where peat-based compost originates, play a crucial role in storing carbon. When this peatland is mined, the carbon is unlocked, and produces up to 400 tonnes of CO2 every year.
Compost helps things grow. It improves the health of your plants while reducing the need for water and artificial fertilisers. Compost heaps themselves are a great way to attract wildlife, worms, slugs, hedgehogs, birds, lizards, the lot!
What’s more, by avoiding peat-based compost from shops, you’re protecting rich and diverse habitats, home to rare and protected plants and animals.
How
Composting comes in many shapes and sizes. The right option usually depends on how much space you have.
- Compost heaps: If you have a big enough garden, traditional compost heaps are the winner. Check out RecycleNow's advice on home composting.
- Wormeries are small, smell-free, and create rich compost in a matter of months. You can keep them inside or out – don't worry, the worms can't escape! Many councils offer discounts on wormeries and compost bins - contact yours to see if they have a scheme.
- Bokashi is a composting method that uses microorganisms to break down food waste (including meat and fish) at a supercharged speed. It is totally hygienic and can be kept safely in your kitchen.
- Council collections of compost are becoming more and more common. RecycleNow to see if and when your council collects food and garden waste. Watch this video to see what happens to the council collected food waste.
- Share waste: None of the above work for you? See if a neighbour has a compost heap you can donate your scraps to using the handy Share Waste app.
A word to the wise: whatever method you choose, do it right! It's not hard, but if you don't tend to your compost heap correctly, it could produce poor quality compost, emit smelly gasses and even attract some unwanted guests.
Ensuring a little TLC for your compost heap, and you'll be feeding the earth and yourself, with lots of goodness for years to come!
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