The benefits of home composting
Composting your garden waste and fruit and vegetable scraps at
home is the most environmentally friendly way to deal with this
sort of waste, and is preferable to other methods for the following
reasons:
- If organic waste is sent to landfill, it contributes to the
production of greenhouse
gases such as methane
which lead to climate change, in addition to the emissions
caused by collecting it and transporting it there.
- If organic waste is burnt on bonfires, the smoke it produces
pollutes the air and can be a nuisance to neighbours.
- If organic waste is treated properly at a central composting
facility, it still needs to be collected and transported.
Producing your own compost at home has other benefits. It
provides a free compost you can use on the garden and so reduces
the need to buy peat products. Peat bogs are a fragile wildlife
habitat, 94% of which has been destroyed in this country in order
to meet the demand for peat products. Peat and compost products for
sale often come pre-packaged, contributing to more waste. Also, if
you make your own compost, you know exactly what has gone into
it.
Follow this link for
more advice about composting at home (new
window).
Excess garden waste that you can't manage at home can also be
taken to the
household waste recycling centres (new
window) at Felixstowe, Foxhall and Leiston. This waste is
shredded and composted at Foxhall to produce Green Top soil
improver.
Green Top can be purchased in 20kg bags from all the household
waste recycling centres, except Foxhall, at the cost of £1.50 per
bag. At Foxhall, you have to take your own bags where the cost is
£1 per bag, shovels are provided for your convenience. Larger loads
can be collected from Foxhall or delivered by arrangement. Follow
this link for
more details about Green Top (new
window).
Home compost bin offer
Suffolk Coastal, in partnership with the other local authorities
in Suffolk and the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP), is
currently offering residents the following range of home
compost bins at reduced prices:
Compost Converter 220 litre.
Only £17.00 including free delivery.
- 90cm high x 74cm diameter.
- Strong sturdy construction.
- Sliding hatch for easy access to compost.
- 100% recycled material.
Manufacturer's suggested retail
price £40.00.
Compost Converter 330 litre.
Only £20.00 including free delivery.
- 100cm high x 80cm diameter.
- Strong sturdy construction.
- Sliding hatch for easy access to compost.
- 100% recycled material.
- Manufacturer's suggested retail price £50.00.
Komp 250 litre.
Only £40.00 including free delivery.
- 105cm high x 54cm deep x 54cm wide.
- 4 sided with hinged lid.
- Marbled green (variable).
- 100% recycled material.
- Manufacturer's suggested retail price £66.00.
Buy a kitchen caddy
for only £4 when you buy a bin.
To take advantage of this offer
you can place your order online (new window)
or call the home compost order line on 0845 077
0757 quoting reference SHOE.
Alternatively, you can print off an
order form (new window PDF 246KB) and
place your order by post.
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF
files.