In your garden
Composting is the most environmentally friendly way to recycle kitchen and garden waste. It can reduce your waste by a third!
It combats climate change by returning delicious nutrients to your garden, rather than sending organic waste to be buried in landfill sites, where it would produce methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
You can buy a subsidised bin from Redbridge council for £15
here.
If you are interested in getting involved with a community garden project in Redbridge, where you can have a go at a range of activities such as gardening and composting, have a look at
Forest Farm Peace Garden in Hainault.
Follow our five easy steps to produce nourishing compost for your plants:
Buy a compost bin for your garden
Put your bin on a level, well-drained spot to allow water to drain out. A partially sunny spot can help speed up the composting process.
Add ‘greens’ and ‘browns’
‘Greens’ (rot quickly and provide important nitrogen and moisture):
- fruit and vegetable peelings
- teabags
- plant prunings
- grass cuttings
‘Browns’ (rot slower, provide fibre and carbon, and create air pockets):
- cardboard egg boxes
- scrunched up paper
- fallen leaves
Crushed eggshells can also be included to add minerals.
Don't add
- cooked food
- meat or fish
- dairy products
- animal droppings
- baby's nappies
- perennial weeds (such as dandelions and thistle)
- weeds with seed heads
- diseased plants
Plastics, glass and metals are not suitable for composting and should be recycled separately.
Mix it, air it
Make sure you keep your Greens and Browns properly balanced. If your compost is too wet, add more Browns. If it’s too dry, add some Greens.
Ensure there is enough air in the mixture. Adding scrunched up bits of cardboard is a simple way to create air pockets.
Make your garden bloom!
Your compost will be ready in around 9-12 months. Finished compost is dark brown, almost black in colour, has a spongy texture and a pleasant earthy smell.
It is rich in nutrients and greatly improves the soil quality in your flowerbeds.