Continue to Compost this Autumn

As the summer becomes a distant memory don’t let thoughts of your compost bin fade too! Many of us are missing a trick if we don't continue to use our compost bins through the colder months as well as during the spring and summer. Adding waste through the cooler weather helps to keep the composting process going at a time when decomposition will naturally slow down.
Home Composting is easy to do all year round and as the leaves start to fall you will have plenty to add to your compost over the coming months. Here are some great tips to ensure we keep a good thing going by not overlooking our compost bin or heap during these cooler, darker months:

• Help next year’s plants grow by making use of this year's tired vegetation. Adding spent bedding plants to your compost mix will help to capture all the nutrients and will give your new plants a great start when you wake the garden back up in the spring.
• Bring the inside, outside! Almost a third of our household waste can be composted at home. Anything from toilet roll tubes and egg boxes to coffee grounds and tea leaves are all welcome additions to your compost bin.
• Make your compost mixture more a-peel-ing. Don't forget to regularly add your kitchen waste to your compost. It will really appreciate the peelings from your tasty winter vegetables.

South Bucks District Council is eager to encourage residents to compost at home as a way of reducing harmful CO2 and methane emissions that can contribute to climate change. Home composting the only form of recycling that can be done completely at home saving on fuel transporting garden waste to Household Waste Recycling Centres, and preventing waste that would otherwise be thrown in the bin from being sent to landfill.

South Bucks District Councillor Bill Lidgate, Portfolio Holder for Environment says, “This autumn don’t let composting and recycling drop along with the temperature. South Bucks residents already take an active role in reducing their waste and this is a great time of year to get composting, it is easy to do and can make a big difference to your garden and our environment.”

For further information on composting and how you can reduce your waste please see our website composting web page. or contact 01895 837260 or email environment@southbucks.gov.uk