Tips on How to Compost

Not only is composting good for your garden, it also reduces waste going to landfills which is great for the environment. Did you know that over 30 per cent of the average household bin can be composted - thats about 150kg a year or the equivilant of a baby elephant! Here are some tips on how to get started.

The main thing to remember is to balance your nitrogen-rich 'greens' with your nitrogen-poor 'browns' to keep your compost healthy. Here's a list to help you...

'greens':

• Fruit & vegetable scraps (including citrus peel)
• Tea bags, coffee grounds & filter paper
• Crushed egg shells
• Grass cuttings (not too many)
• Young hedge clippings
• Annual weeds e.g. chickweed and speedwell
• Old flowers & nettles
• Manure
• Pond algae

'browns':

• Gerbil, hamster & rabbit bedding
• Egg boxes
• Thin cardboard, paper, corrugated cardboard packaging, toilet & kitchen rolls, and newspaper (torn up into small pieces)
• Dry leaves (small quantaties)
• Garden prunings
• Straw
• Woody twigs & hedge trimmings
• Ashes from wood, paper & lumpwood charcoal
• Sawdust & wood chippings
• Wool, cotten thread & tumble dryer lint
• Vacuum bag contents
• Shredded paper

DO NOT put in cooked food waste, meat fish, cat litter, dog faeces, glossy magazines, roots of perennial weeds, diseased plants, plastic, glass or metal.

How do I get good quality compost?

If you want good quality compost, you have to look after your compost heap. Here are a few tips...

• Find the right site - Ideally put it in the garden on bare soil. If you have to put it onto concrete, tarmac or patio slabs, ensure there's a layer of soil or existing compost at the bottom of the composter so the worms can colonise.
• Layer it - Each time you put a layer of greens in, add an equal layer of browns too
• Keep your compost moist - Not too wet and not dry. Check before you add a layer: if it's dry add water; if it's soggy, add some more brown material
• Add some air so it doesn't smell - Give your compost an occasional turn with a garden fork.
• Sit back and relax - It takes six to nine months for your compost to be ready for use, so patience is the final ingredient.
• Ready for use - Once your compost has turned into a dark material resembling thick, moist soil and gives off an earthy fresh aroma, you'll know it's ready for use!
• Collect the compost - Lift the bin slightly or open the hatch at the bottom and scoop out the fresh compost with a garden fork or spade.
• Use it - Don't worry if it looks a bit lumpy with twigs or bits of eggshell, this is perfectly normal. use it to enrich borders or vegetable patches, plant up patio containers or feed the lawn.

Subsidised Compost Bins

Why not treat yourself to a generously subsidised compost bin and use it to compost your food waste,garden waste,papers and cardboard?

You can purchase a discounted compost bin subsidised by Newham online, by post or over the phone. To order a compost bin call 0845 130 6090 or order online at http://www.newham.getcomposting.com/

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For more information on how to improve your compost, visit the Compost Works tips for composting pdf.

Community Composting Network and Waste Online also have some information and links on composting.