Home composting

Home composting is a very cheap, easy, and effective way for keen gardeners to be environmentally friendly, to help their gardens flourish, and to save money.

Composting assists in reducing waste. 40% of your household waste can be composted, meaning it saves money on buying compost through retailers.

It also helps to improve the condition of your soil and allows plants and flowers to flourish by suppressing plant disease.
 

 

Home composting bins should be placed in a reasonably sunny area on bare soil. If this is not possible, ensure that there is a layer of paper and twigs, or existing compost underneath so garden insects can colonise.

Once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material and gives off an earthy fresh aroma, you know that it’s ready to use. This usually occurs between 9 - 12 months.

If compost looks lumpy - don’t worry! Lumpy compost is perfectly normal, and it can be used to enrich borders and vegetable patches. If you are unhappy with the consistency of your compost, simply put it back in the bin.
 

What can I put in my compost bin?

You should be sure to include ‘greens’ in your compost bin, they are quick to rot and provide moisture and oxygen.

You should also include ‘browns’, which provide fibre and carbon, as well as allowing air pockets to form in the compost mixture.
 

Greens	Browns
Tea leaves and teabags (some teabags contain plastic- please avoid composting these ones)	Crushed eggshells
Grass cuttings	Egg and cereal boxes
Vegetable peelings, salad leaves, fruit scraps	Corrugated cardboard and paper (scrunched up)
Old flowers and nettles	Toilet and kitchen roll tubes
Coffee grounds and filter paper	Tissues, paper towels and napkins
Spent bedding plants	Garden prunings
Rhubarb leaves	Twigs and hedge clippings
Young annual weeds (e.g. chickweed)	Straw and hay
	Bedding from vegetarian pets
	Ashes from wood, paper and lump wood charcoal
	Sawdust and wood chipping
	Wool, cotton threads and string (natural fibre)
	Woody clippings
	Feathers
	Vacuum bag contents
	Old natural fibre clothes (cut into pieces)
	Shredded documents
	Corn cobs and stalks

 
Please do not include:

• Cooked vegetables, meats and dairy products (unless they have first been treated with a specialist kitchen composter)
• Diseased plants, animal waste, or baby nappies
• Perennial weeds (such as dandelions and thistles)
• Plastic, glass, and metals

These items will encourage unwanted pests and create odour. Items like plastic, glass, and metals can be recycled.