International Compost Awareness Week

Compost Awareness Week 1st -7th May 2011

Many people reading this will be doing so after the Compost awareness week dates, but what's in a date? We can celebrate composting any time and I will try and pass on my enthusiasm for compost all year round. The whole idea of International Compost Awareness week is to encourage people to either start composting or compost things they had never thought to put in their compost bins. If you are a composting veteran you could also consider assisting others to get started on their first compost heap.

You would think that someone like me had a family that would all be whole hearted compost makers, especially as all my relatives were heavily influenced by my Grandad. A gardener, allotmenteer and composting enthusiast who gently educated us all in the delights of Humus (Compost). Most of us are, so what happened with my sister?

I have just had a lovely 3 days with my Sister and her family visiting from Hampshire and as always I tried to encourage her to compost their kitchen and Garden waste. My Sister and Brother in Law are the very people I am trying to reach. The trouble is that they think that they are no good at gardening, that their garden has nowhere to put compost and they feel that there is nowhere to put compost when it's ready anyway. I realise that turning kitchen peelings and garden waste into lovely brown, crumbly compost isn't everyone’s idea of fun, but I have been to their house. I know that there are borders for plants that they have talked about letting my Niece and Nephew grow vegetables in pots and there is certainly room for a compost or small home made wormery.

So, what do I do? I've tried to talk about the benefits of recycling waste into compost as opposed to putting it into landfill, I've suggested the children would benefit from the whole making a compost to seeing the process and getting involved in the mini beasts that live in a heap and shown how the garden would benefit from having nutritious compost added to the borders. In the end she gave me a half hearted pledge to do something about compost by the time I next visit. I suspect it was said to shut me up. I won't give up trying.

From that conversation though, I found out that their local Council don't collect any garden or kitchen waste like we have in our Brown bins. To be frank, I'm disgusted! The waste going to landfill could be almost halved in one fell swoop by collecting resident’s compostable garden and kitchen waste. Why aren't they doing it? The costs of placing waste in landfill sites is prohibitive, and purposely so. There are fewer landfill sites to dump our waste and why should we dump it when it can be reused and made into something else? 

Find out what is going on in your area for compost awareness week. I bet there will be a master composter at an event near you.

How to start composting

Welcome to the Master Composter feature, where I will tell you about the joys of composting. I am a Master Composter Volunteer, which means that I have been trained by a charity called Garden Organics, in association with Suffolk County council. I devote my spare time to encouraging and assisting everyone to compost. From the complete novice to the veteran composter, if you have a question about composting, then I will use this page to answer them.

Making and using compost is the building block of successful gardening, especially if you are looking for low environmental impact, organic gardening. The dark, rich, crumbly and sweet smelling finished product is often referred to as “Gardener’s gold”. It is made by utilising nature to turn organic matter such as: recycled garden and kitchen waste; cardboard or straw and water, into an enriching agent for your garden soil. By adding it to your flower beds it breathes life into the soil by conditioning it with nutrients.

It is estimated that 40% of the average household bin is suitable for composting. There are several reasons to avoid this:

Firstly, this organic waste is compacted into landfill and a by-product of this is a greenhouse gas called Methane, 30 times stronger than Carbon Dioxide. Because composting uses air to help decompose organic matter it avoids the conditions that are responsible for the production of Methane.

Secondly, it costs local Councils more and more to send waste to landfill as we run out of space for this method of disposal. This cost is reflected in council tax.

Thirdly, by composting this resource, we are reducing the transportation of waste, getting free, good quality compost.

To start composting you will need:

A suitable, preferably sunny spot, easily accessible all year round.

Ideally bare soil on level ground

A bin. You can make your own from wood and wire mesh. Alternatively, you may know someone with a spare bin, or be able to get one second hand. The County council also offer a subsidised compost bin scheme available through http://www.suffolk.getcomposting.com/ or http://www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk/

or Tel: 0844 5714444

Finally, a steady supply of kitchen and garden waste.

A compost is a living thing and as such needs food (materials), water (Moisture) and Oxygen (air). The food can be divided into “Greens” (wet sappy material) and “Browns” (dry brown materials such as straw or cardboard) and it is important to get the mix of these ingredients right to avoid it being too wet or too dry.

The last thing to remember is that your compost heap is a Vegan. Do not feed it Meat, fish or dairy products and, following the method above, it should start producing Gardener’s gold within 12 to 18 months

If you have any questions about composting please email mastercomposter952@gmail.com

Next time I will look at using wormeries, also known as "Vermicompost".