Guide to Home Composting

With the average person in the UK disposing of 517kg of waste each year, the increasing need to reduce waste being landfilled is an environmental and financial dilemma for most councils and governments. The Environment Agency's National Household Waste Analysis project suggests that about 60% of all municipal waste is biodegradable and by 2020 the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill must be reduced to 75% of the amount produced in 1995 to meet targets set by the UK government.

One way we can assist is through composting our biodegradable waste. I have now collected my composter from my local council for only £5. A quick look on the website with the accompanying literature suggest that the recommended retail price is £40. Many councils in the UK offer this reduced and subsidised scheme, some will even give you an accompanying kitchen caddy and free delivery. Find your local council to see what scheme they offer.

For more information how to reduce your household food waste.

Financially each tonne of waste is taxed by government at £24, then the additional cost charged by the landfill owner per tonne, if this is the council then they incur cost through construction and this ultimately passed to the local community in council taxes .

So you have your composter, what should you do?

Place your compost bin on well-drained soil in a sunny part of the garden, loosening soil beneath the composter. This improves drainage, and encourages worms and bacteria to enter the composter from the surrounding earth.

By placing a layer of manure or kitchen waste on to the loose soil this will attract worms and bacteria quicker.

It is best to add different types of materials in levels, 3 to 6 inches in depth.

If not included get yourself a kitchen caddy or bucket, this will save you having to travel to the bottom of the garden at the end of every meal.

A good mix of waste is essential to aid in the decomposition of waste.

What's In

• Vegetables and Fruit
  High in essential nitrogen and carbon
  Best in small pieces, peelings are fine but chop up full sized waste fruit
• Tea Leaves & Coffee Grounds
• Crushed Egg Shells
• Weeds
  Compost heaps should rise above 66 degrees Celsius killing off weed seeds and disease
  Do Not Compost - Couch grass, bindweed or creeping buttercup, the conditions in a compost heap are ideal for them to keep on growing
• Grass Cuttings
  High in nitrogen, they act as a good activator
  Mix with kitchen and woody waste
• Hair
  From people and pets, it will all break down
• Paper
  Ideally in small amounts and shredded
• Animal Manure
  Vegetarian pets only
  Best mixed with straw
• Evergreen Clippings
  Taking a long time to decompose (especially conifers), these should be used sparingly
• Leaves
  Contain lignin, taking a long time to decompose, best composted separately
• Prunings
  Add only in small amounts and chopped up well
• Straw & Hay
  Used is best
  Dry straw and hay should be soaked before adding
• Spent Hops
  High in nutrition
• Vacuum Dust
  Only from woollen carpets
  Synthetic threads will not break down
  
  

And what to avoid ...

• Disposable nappies, used tissues and excrement
  In case disease is not destroyed by the composting process
• Hard objects, stones, bits of glass, metal and plastic
• Household or garden chemicals
• Brightly coloured or shiny card or printed papers
• Meat (cooked or raw)
  The smell can attract animals

To get the best results your composter should be kept warm, moist and oxygenated. Placing the composter in direct sunlight, and away from wind will allow the the plastic to absorb UV rays and heat the compost. By ensuring the lid is on at all times allows the heat and moisture to be confined. If your compost starts to dry out, add water as and when required. Most compost bins are specifically designed to allow the sufficient aeration, however you turning the materials you will increase aeration and speed up the decomposition process. You can add air pockets with scrunched up newspaper or shredded paper.

Your compost when ready should be an odourless crumbly brown material, by digging it into your soil in early spring or late autumn you will improve the soil structure, it will also act as a fertiliser. Mixing with clay soil will improve drainage and aeration, whilst mixing with sandy soil will slow over-draining and hold essential moisture.

Using a 3" mulch of compost around the garden helps retain moisture and prevent weeds. In releases its nutrients into the soil and improves texture. Worms will pull the mulch down into their burrows, passing it through their gut breaking it down even more and mixing it into the soil at the same time.


Troubleshooting

• Compost is not getting hot enough to break down material
  Compost mix not right, add more soft sappy nitrogen-rich activating materials (eg grass)
• Composter slows in winter
  Bacteria slow down, add additional activators in the compost heap will increase the heat
• Compost heap dries out
  Evaporation of water due to heat, water you compost until moist, keeping the lid on should help lock in the moisture
• Flies
  Larvae feed on the vegetation.They are not a nuisance, however excessive levels are unwanted. Avoid pesticides. Cover the pile with paper and bury kitchen scraps
• Unpleasant smell
  Not enough air is getting to the compost. Aerate the compost using a fork or aeration stick.

It may sound that composting is a pretty arduous task and may not be suited to everyone, however once you get used to separating the waste and composting once a day. It should take no longer than five minutes work. By composting you will prevent a large proportion of your household waste going to landfill, by composting you will also save your local authority some cash each year to spend on real things not big holes in the ground.

For more indepth information on composting visit Master Composter