Compost Awareness Week Sunday 4th to Saturday 10th May

Compost awareness week, in association with WRAP and The Composing Association runs from Sunday 4th to Saturday 10th May. This is one of the first steps to self sufficiency and something I am particularly passionate about.

Fresh compost is a nutrient rich food for your soil, which will help to improve soil structure, balance the pH and suppress disease. You can use your homemade compost for flowers, vegetables, as mulch, in pots and around trees.

So many people throw away valuable kitchen peelings or cuttings from the garden and then go and buy bags of compost in the springtime! Now, we have a chance to green up our environment, by turning our ‘rubbish’ into life-giving food in the form of compost.

Over a third of the things we throw into the bin every week can be composted – tea bags, eggshells, peelings and coffee grinds for example, so it makes sense to have some sort of compost system in place. This will reduce the amount of rubbish you send to the landfill each week, provide you with some exercise and give you valuable free fertiliser for your garden or allotment.

You can view demonstrations, ask questions and get some free peat-free compost and a bulb to get you started if you attend one of the many events taking place across the UK during compost awareness week. Check out the ‘Events finder’ on their site to find out details of any ‘compost kiosks’ and events taking place in your local area.

In addition, many councils are running special offers on compost bins for the week. Enter your postcode on this page to find out about any special compost bin offers in your region. The most eco friendly way though, is to make a bin from recycled materials, such as wooden pallets, rather than buying a plastic one.

If you have no garden to enjoy, then why not consider turning your waste into gold by investing in a wormery or bokashi bin? (otherwise known as an All-waste Kitchen Composter). You can give the resulting plant foods to your friends and neighbours (the perfect, homemade present for a gardener, surely!) or use it on your house plants.

For more details on setting up a compost bin, check out this article on houseofstrauss

Do you have a compost bin? Do you find it easy to maintain or are there some top tips you would share with others to ensure success?