The Facts

Did You Know?

Calling Barbers and Hairdressers - Human hair can be added to compost!

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Top Tips

You can store your kitchen scraps in your freezer to speed up decomposition. Your materials will break down at the cell level when frozen.

A great activator to use is the manure from vegatarian animals. So if you have a rabbit, put the waste from cleaning out straight into your bin!

The other great activator is grass cuttings, this will speed up your composting no end. Do make sure though to spread it around if it's still green, as it can get sticky and compact together, causing a foul mush.

Chop up your bin contents as fine as you can before including them. Smaller pieces mean quicker decomposition.

Watering your pile aids the process but don’t overdo it. It should be as moist as a well wrung out sponge.

Remember, a successful compost heap needs to be a balance of greens and browns, or nitrogen and carbon!

The temperature of the managed pile is important - it indicates the activity of the decomposition process. The easiest way to track the temperature inside the pile is by feeling it. If it is warm or hot, everything is fine. If it is the same temperature as the outside air, the microbial activity has slowed down and you need to add more nitrogen (green) materials such as grass clippings, kitchen waste, or manure.

Keeping a container for your materials in your kitchen is a great help, as most of your contents will come from here. Either use a shop bought caddy which are inexpensive and easily cleaned, or make your own! For a while I used carrier bags and then a childs small plastic box which was fine, as I emptied it daily so there were no smells. If you don't have a lot of material then a caddy or a box with a lid is probably a better option.

If you own a garden shredder