Master Composter Scheme
Shetland is one of 12 areas throughout Scotland running a Master Composter Scheme to promote home composting to the local community.
The aim of the Scottish Master Composter Programme is to encourage people to take responsibility for the waste they produce, and give them the support that they need in order to compost their food and garden waste at home. This is achieved by training volunteers to enable them to promote home composting in their own communities.
Why we’d like you to volunteer
The Master Composter Scheme is designed to run with the help of “Master Composter” volunteers. These volunteers are at the heart of our efforts to bring Home Composting to a wider range of people, and will receive the full support of the Council’s Environment and Resource Management Unit.
What “Master Composters” do?
“Master Composter” volunteers are expected to devote some of their personal time to encouraging those in their area to compost, and to help those who are already composting but may be experiencing difficulties. This could be through giving talks to community groups, personal visits, attending community events with a stall, or helping the Environment and Resource Management Unit at larger, Shetland-wide, events.
Master Composter Tour
In 2009 the Environment and Resource Management Unit held composting events throughout the isles, this included a composting workshop road show, school demonstrations, visiting country show and farmers markets and holding a 2 day gardening event in the spring.
After the success of the 2009 composting workshops, we are holding more this year! Come along and share your composting experiences, members of the environmental management team will be on hand to offer assistance and advice on how to compost. Whether you’re a complete beginner, experiencing difficulties or a successful composter, we look forward to seeing you there! Please feel free to join us from 7:00-8:30 pm at the following locations:
- Tuesday 9th March - Walls Hall
- Tuesday 16th March - Symbister Hall
- Tuesday 23rd March - Sound Hall
- Tuesday 30th March - Staney Hill Hall
- Thursday 8th April - Brae Hall
- Tuesday 13th April - Boddam Hall
- Tuesday 27th April - Mid Yell Hall
- Tuesday 4th May - South Nesting Hall
- Tuesday 11th May - Whiteness & Weisdale Hall
- Tuesday 18th May - North Roe Hall
- Tuesday 25th May - Baltasound Hall
- Tuesday 1st June - Aith Hall
- Tuesday 8th June - Bressay Hall
School Visits
The Environment and Resource Management Unit staff have visited several schools throughout Shetland and were at the schools science fair with a fun composting workshop. After a short presentation on composting the children got to dig through compost to find bugs which were projected onto a screen for everyone to see, they also got to have a go at a composting game.
Green Day Environment Fair
Green Day 2009 (9-10th May) was a showcase of the Shetland environment, from gardening, through “green living”, to exploring the wilderness on our doorsteps!
Through the weekend there were experts on hand to answer questions about the environment, healthy living, green issues and gardening. Other things on offer included:
Things to buy
- Subsidised compost bins from £5 - £15 (rrp £40- £125)
- Garden Plants and trees of all kinds - including locally grown
- Lawnmowers, Garden tools, Decking, Garden ornaments
- Fair trade goods and foods, Tearcraft products
- Energy efficient products
Things to do
- Have your bike checked before use this summer by the staff from the Shetland Bicycle project.
- Test your own health and fitness on the latest equipment
- Learn about energy use and cost savings for the home from local experts and Energy Trust Scotland
- Test your driving skills on our Green Driving Simulator. Learn the money saving tricks
- Learn how to holiday at home and how to entertain the children for little cost by using your local environment
- Increase your knowledge of Shetland’s environment, plants, birds and animals
Environment and Resource Management Unit would like to thank everybody who made the road show a success by attending our events. If you would like further information about the Master Composter Programme in Shetland then please contact ERMU- Tel: 01595744850 or e-mail.
