Gardening goes green for compost-awareness week
May 9, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Gardeners across the country are putting extra efforts into recycling in response to national compost-awareness week. Run by The Compost Association (TCA) and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), this seventh annual initiative encourages householders to recognise the benefits of home composting and promotes the use of peat-free compost made from recycled garden and kitchen waste.
Compost Awareness Week started life in Canada in 1995 and was brought to the UK in 2001. It aims to present a serious message through fun events. Recycling and composting road shows are being run by local councils across the UK. Special farmers markets, open days and competitions will also help spread the composting message.
Figures from WRAP show that around 56% of UK gardeners understand the role that recycling gardening waste can play in helping to combat climate change, but only 34% regularly home compost.
Composting can be a great way of reducing the amount of waste you send to landfill while improving the quality of soil in your garden, but it’s important to keep your compost balanced and avoid adding non-compostable nasties. Good things to compost include shredded paper, animal bedding, grass cuttings, egg shells, teabags, leaves and fruit and vegetable peelings. Don’t put meat or fish, nappies, dairy products, cooked food or diseased plants in your compost bin.
Find out more about composting on our special composting page. You can put your composting knowledge to the test by playing Recycle Now’s composting game. To find out about events taking place during compost-awareness week use WRAP’s search facility. You can also find the nearest place to get your hands on a cheap composting bin and find out if you have a local Home Compost Advisor on the Recycle Now composting pages.
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