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Composting at home

Composting is a great way of turning old fruit, vegetables and garden waste into free compost for your garden.

Home compost bins

Help the environment and save money

Kitchen and garden waste makes up about a third of all household waste. Composting this reduces the amount of rubbish being taken to landfill sites. When you remove flowers from your garden, mow the grass or prune, nutrients are lost. Compost replaces this at no cost. Compost can be used as a substitute for manures and fertilisers, improving the structure and health of the soil and making your plants grow better.

Getting started is simple - all you need is a container.

Where can I buy a home composter?

  • The London Borough of Bexley have taken advantage of WIN's (Waste Improvement Network) home composting framework to work with Straight Plc to offer residents discounted compost bins. Straight can also provide discounted wormeries and water butts. Please order on the Get Composting website.
  • Re-Instate are a local charity who operate a sheltered workshop for adults with mental health problems and learning disabilities. Re-Instate sell 1100 litre capacity compost bins made from recycled wood. Please contact them on 01322 438155 for more information.
  • Compost bins can also be brought from any good garden centres and DIY outlets.

How do I use my home composter?      

  • Turn it about once a week. Use a garden fork to turn the pile to allow air into the system
  • Keep the moisture right, just damp.
  • Use a good mixture of material - for example too much grass will just turn into green sludge. Try mixing shredded paper or twigs in with grass cuttings
  • Put the home composter on soil so bugs can get in and excess liquid can go into the ground.
  • DO NOT place on concrete or it will not work properly
  • DO NOT put dairy, meat or cooked foods in your compost to avoid getting vermin.

What can I use the compost for?

  • Soil improver
  • Mulch
  • Soil substitute
  • Use when planting trees and shrubs

(Caution, do not use in large quantities in one go as it is a very strong fertiliser and may adversely affect plants)

Where can I get more information on home composting?

For further information on home composting please use the recommended external websites.