A campaign to encourage local residents to
compost some of their domestic waste has been launched across the county. It aims to encourage more households to compost grass clippings,
hedge prunings and leaves along with kitchen leftovers such as tea bags, egg shells, vegetable and fruit peelings to make a rich organic
compost to use in gardens.
To help residents join in the scheme, Devon’s local authorities are running special offers on compost bins and wormeries to make it cheaper and easier for householders to start composting. Some authorities are even offering composting clinics and home composting books to help householders get to grips with the basics of backyard composting.
“Composting will not only benefit you and your garden, but you will help to reduce the thousands of tonnes of waste that go to landfill sites in Devon every year,” says Liz Poulter, Devon County Council’s Recycling Officer.
“More than one third of your dustbin can be recycled into compost and doing this at home is probably the single most effective action that people can take to help the planet,” said Liz.
Devon county council: Contact the Devon Green Line on 01392 383838 to find out about home composting or purchase a backyard composting book.
Torridge district council: Reduced price Compost bins available to Torridge Residents Tel: (01237) 428734.
Although a compost bin is not essential to composting it can improve the quality of the compost, keeps any smell to a minimum and keeps the garden looking tidy. Even small gardens could make good use of a wormery, which can take up less room then a conventional compost bin and produces both rich compost and an excellent liquid plant feed.
Composition of an average dustbin: 32% Paper and card, 30% Organic, 10% Glass, 9% Miscellaneous, 8% Metals, 7% Plastic, 4% Textiles.