Composting
Guide to Home Composting
From Rubbish to Resource - the benefits of home composting
Composting, where more is less. The more you compost, the less rubbish you will be throwing away in a black bag each week. Rubbish which was once thrown away, is now being recycled into a useful garden material and soil improver.
How to Compost
To compost or not to compost? That is the question- and you can find the answers about what material you can put in a compost heap on the chart below. The rule of thumb for making successful compost is to gain a balance between wet waste and dry waste going in. Generally the better the mix of organic waste going in, the better the compost coming out. Variety is the spice of the compost heap.
IN |
OUT |
| Fruit and Vegetables | Ashes (coal) |
| Animal Hair | Books |
| Animal Fur | Bottles |
| Animal Nails | Cans, Tins and Aerosols |
| Banana Peel | Cardboard |
| Small Bones | Carpets and Underlay |
| Cigarette Ends | Chemicals |
| Coffee Grounds | Clothes and Textiles |
| Cooking Scraps | Cork - large pieces |
| Cork - small pieces | Cotton Buds |
| Cotton Wool | Foil and Food Trays |
| Feathers | Glass Jars and Bottles |
| Fish and Chip Paper | Nappies - disposable |
| Flowers - dead ones | Paper - newspapers & other clean paper |
| Lawn Cuttings | Plastics - all types |
| Human Hair | Paper or Tissues Soiled with Oils and Chemicals |
| Human Nail Clippings | Vacuum Cleaner Dust |
| Orange Peel | Wall Paper Strippings |
| Weeds | Wicker Work or Raffia |
| Wood Ash and Shavings | Larger Bits of Timber |
| Paper - Wet/Dirty with Food Waste | Very Thick Hedge Prunings |
| Prunings - non woody | Meat, Fish and Bones |
| Small Animal Droppings/Litter | Diseased Plants |
| String - not plastic | Dog and Cat Droppings |
| Tea Leaves/Bags | |
| Tissue - soiled with food |
Patience - and nature will do the rest
A common anxiety is that nothing appears to be happening on the heap. In fact it is, but it's only doing so very slowly. The Shetland climate does tend to slow things down somewhat, but there are ways to give nature a gentle push.
- Type of composter, tumbler units make compost more quickly than traditional fixed units. These require slightly different handling methods to get the best from them - see the compost bin guide.
- Heat, extra warmth will help maintain a higher temperature and aid decomposition. Situate your composter in a sunny position. If you have a wooden open topped unit, insulate with a compost duvet or old carpet.
- Humidity, the Shetland weather can throw down a lot of rain, this can make a heap too wet and slow down decomposition. The insulation tops above will also help to maintain optimum humidity.
- Activators, these generate the heat to break down organic matter in the heap. Mixing in some manure will help, or try adding an organic accelerator: Many Shetland residents have had sucess with Garotta and seaweed, although there are many others you can experiment with.
Further Information and Useful Links
If you are looking for further information and guidance on composting, or would like to purchase further composters, phone SIC on 01595 744818 or 744804. Alternatively, try clicking on any of the links below for further advice or solutions to most common probelms.
If your compost bin is looking slightly unhealthy, try Dr. Compost's interactive surgery to diagnose and cure most common problems.
www.wascot.org.uk/Doctor%20-%201.htm
The Community Composting network offer advice.
www.communitycompost.org/info.index.htm
The Composting Association are the definitive on all matters composting in the UK
Primal seeds take you back to basics and explain the science behind good composting
www.primalseeds.org/compost.htm
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) also have their own informatin for home composting
www.wrap.org.uk/waste_minimisation/the_wrap_home.html
HDRA The Organic Association has it's own set of guidelines for complete organic gardening, of which composting is an essential component
www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.htm
Recycle Now produce a large range of bins - including the black drums you may have bought from us, and can give you advice on getting the best from them
www.recyclenow.com/home_composting