Recycle Now: Barriers to composting

Related Posts with Thumbnails


Compost heap
Not all composting takes up this much space!

According to research done for Recycle Now’s Home Composting Campaign, a lack of space is one of the main reasons people give for not composting garden and household waste.

But is that really a problem, or just a perception? With so many composting options available, anyone with outside space – around 95 per cent of households – should be able to give it a go and divert large volumes of compostable waste from going to landfill and causing environmental problems there.

To demonstrate that time and space needn’t be an issue and to bust other myths about composting, Recycle Now has put together a beginners’ guide:

1. Heap or bin? A compost heap is perhaps one of the most traditional methods for composting. However, compost bins are now widely available and popular as they are simple to purchase, construct and use.

2. What type of bin is for me?
There are compost bins of all shapes and sizes, to suit your gardening needs.

3. Garden design: If you are concerned about how your garden will look when you start composting, build the bin into the design of your garden. Compost bins could be disguised behind a surround made of either brick or timber (or stone if in keeping with your garden), or you can put a trellis in front of your bin and grow climbers over it for a really natural screen.

4. Getting started: Simply add a selection of ‘greens and browns’ to the bin for the perfect mix. ‘Greens’ are quick to rot and provide important nitrogen and moisture – try tea bags, vegetable peelings, old flowers and nettles, or spent bedding plants. ‘Browns’ such as cardboard, fallen leaves, twigs and branches are slower to rot, but provide carbon and fibre to the bin.

5. The end product: After nine months to a year your compost will be mature enough to use. You’ll know it’s ready when the compost has turned into a dark, crumbly soil-like substance. It can be used to enrich borders and plants. If you have little use for compost, consider using a wormery as this will produce less compost but plenty of plant food.

For further information about home composting and how to get started, as well as advice and information to help you along the way, visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or listen to episode 3 of the Alternative Kitchen Garden show. You could also see if you have a local Master Composter group that can help you.

Posted 12 November 2009, 07:37.   Posted in .
Bookmark and Share

3 Comments for Recycle Now: Barriers to composting

  1. I also have a fairly small space to compost but manage just fine with a few bins in a corner, a wormery and a couple of Bokashi bins. Not as much compost is produced as a decent sized garden but this year it was enough to look after 2 raised beds and a couple of pots leading to some fantastic vegetables.
    http://www.sherlock.co.uk/blog/2008/02/my-composting-setup.html

    Simon Sherlock · Nov 12, 07:48 AM

  2. It’s the mosquitoes that kept me from composting in the summer! My compost bin is behind the carport and heading outside in the summer months means spraying myself with anti bug juice! I am trying a new spot that I keep covered with fresh topsoil to see if it works and looks okay where it’s located! The compost tumbling spinners look good sometimes! gail

    Gail · Nov 12, 01:14 PM

  3. Hi, I notice that you mention composting teabags. There is a problem with this. Here is a link to a blogpost I did about this http://nickpalmer.blogspot.com/2009/05/worms-tea-bags-and-tissues.html

    The problem is that tea bags are not just paper! They have a small percentage of polyester pvc or polypropylene fibres added (wikipaedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_bag ) so they can be heat sealed during manufacture. When composted, they leave a “ghost” web of plastic fibres behind. This is particularly noticeable in a wormery. I have let Zero Waste’s Mrs Green and Rubbish Diet’s Almost Mrs Average know, plus a few American blogs but so far I seem to be the only one who has noticed this. Can you help to spread the word? I let them cool a little then rip them and pour out the leaves into my compost caddy.

    Nick

    Nick Palmer · Nov 12, 08:17 PM

Commenting is closed for this article.