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Home composting will benefit your garden by providing you with a free supply of compost, improving the nutrient content of the soil and helping soil structure and improving drainage.
Home composting benefits the environment by stopping garden waste and some kitchen waste from being thrown away in your dustbin, where it will end up being buried in Essex landfill sites.
There is information covering:
Composting can be carried out at home by just heaping your garden rubbish in a corner of your garden or by using a compost bin.
You can make your own compost bin (out of old pallets, tyres or carpet for example) or you can buy a bin from most garden and DIY shops. You can also buy compost bins at extremely low prices from the County Council’s home compost bin scheme.
Where should I put a compost bin?
On soil or grass so that soil creatures can get into the bin.
Place in a good sunny spot if possible. The hotter the compost gets the quicker the rubbish will rot down.
Place away from the house, if possible, in case the bin attracts flies and other unwanted pests or smells.
What can I put in a compost bin?
The following items can be placed in a compost bin:
Try to put a good mix of wet items (e.g. grass and food scraps) and dry items (e.g. twigs, leaves, pruning) in.
If you have a compost heap we suggest that you only put in garden waste on the heap as food scraps may attract unwanted pests.
What shouldn't I put in a compost bin?
We do not recommend that you put the following in your home compost bin:
Composting is a natural process of decay, so don't expect finished compost overnight! The process takes part in 2 stages, the speed of which depends upon what you put into your bin, and how you look after it.
In the first stage bacteria and fungi break down the sappy 'greens' heating up the mixture and using lots of oxygen. Typically, this stage takes only 5-10 days.
The mixture then cools, and the next stage begins: larger invertebrates such as beetles, worms and woodlice break down the fibrous 'browns'. These helpful creatures need air too, so it is a good idea to turn or aerate your compost regularly during this stage.
Depending on the mix of materials and the amount of turning this stage may take 3-12 months (like all natural processes, composting is slower in the winter).
Leaves contain lignin and take longer than other garden materials to break down. They are best dealt with separately from your compost bin. Place leaves in a bin liner, dampen the leaves, puncture holes in the sides of the bin liner, and leave for a couple of years. Alternatively, leave the leaves in leaf mould piles.
Leaf mould is very good for using where you have rhododendrons, camelias, azaleas, heather, pines or other plants or shrubs which like an acid soil.
Kitchen composters or Bokashi system
All food can now be turned into nutrient rich compost. This includes meat, fish, dairy products, bread and cooked foods. It's easy to do using a Kitchen Composter or Bokashi system. Simply place any left over food into a Kitchen Composter and sprinkle with a handful of Bokashi activator.
There are no smells from the Kitchen Composter as it has an air-tight lid.
The Bokashi activator is made with friendly bacteria which start the composting process off and neutralise any odours. After 10-14 days, the contents can be safely transferred into a home composter or dug directly into the soil.
More details about kitchen composting are on our page dedicated to Kitchen Composters. This page also includes the link to Recycle for Essex website for the Essex offer of a Kitchen Composter kit for £25 (RRP £50). Alternatively, Essex County and Thurrock Councils' residents can order the kit by going directly to the Recycle for Essex website.
How can I compost without a garden?
A wormery is an alternative to a traditional composter, ideal for disposing of kitchen waste from flats and houses with small gardens. Wormeries produce a good compost and a liquid plant feed.
A wormery is a self contained unit which can be kept inside or outside. These can be home made or bought from garden centres and related retailers. The wormery breaks down the rubbish by using special worms called Tiger worms, who live in the wormery and eat the cooked and uncooked food waste. Their manure called worm casts is very beneficial for the soil and plants.
The worms like a cool and moist temperature, but not too cold. If the wormery is kept outside it will need to be insulated during the winter months. The wormeries must have a tap or a way that the liquid produced by the worms can drain out, otherwise the worms will drown.
What can't be put in a wormery?
Keep a container with a lid in the kitchen (e.g. ice-cream tub, bucket) for collecting kitchen rubbish for composting so you only need to make one trip to the compost bin each day.
Chop fruit and vegetable scraps and twigs up before placing them in the compost bin as they will rot down more quickly.
If the compost bin is too dry add more wet 'greens', such as grass, weeds and fruit and vegetable scraps.
If the compost is too wet add more dry 'browns' such as twigs, dry leaves, straw and dry plants. Leave grass clippings to dry off for a day or so before placing it in the bin. Add scrunched up pieces of newspaper or small strips of cardboard to help aerate the compost and absorb some of the moisture.
If you have a problem with fruit flies leave the lid off for a day or so. Covering fruit waste with a layer of compost or soil will help to reduce the number of flies.
If your compost bin smells unpleasant then it does not have enough air and needs to be aerated. Add dry material such as twigs, dry leaves and scrunched up newspaper and cardboard.
Rats are shy creatures and only like surroundings that they are familiar with. If you place your compost bin away from shrubs and hedges and have it out more in the open then rats are less likely to approach the bin.
A useful tip is to change the surroundings of the bin by placing a spade next to it and maybe move it a week later and replace with a water can, etc. The rat will be phased by the change.
If you do have a problem with rats around your compost bin then stop placing kitchen waste in the bin for a while as it is this material that the rat is attracted to.
There isn't anything wrong with having a rat in your composter. It's just another creature that is enjoying your compost!
