ORGANICS

Facts

• £865m of food is thrown away each year in the UK - 10% of our grocery shopping
• Composting at home stops food festering in your bin
• Composting is really rewarding

REDUCE

• Only buy what you are going to eat
• Shop regularly at Farmers Markets and local grocery stores or Abel & Cole can probably deliver organic produce to your door

REUSE

• Some scraps will be welcomed by the birds

RECYCLE

• Contact your local recycling officer for details of how you can get a compost bin
• You can make great compost using vegetable and fruit peelings, tea bags, egg shells, grass cuttings, egg cartons and scrunched up newspaper
• Store leaves separately to decompose – they take longer to break down with other organics and make great leaf mould on their own
• Cooked foods, dairy products, fish and meat should only be composted in a green cone or similar
• Offer to compost your neighbour's organics if they don't have a bin
• Use a segregated bin, separate bin or even a bucket in the kitchen to put your tea bags, peelings etc into as you use them

LINKS

• Community Composting Network great group with help on composting in general but also on setting up community schemes
• The Asscociation for Organics Recycling (formerly The Composting Association) detailed information includes reports and quality standards
• Garden Organic (formerly HDRA) organic specialists offering compost training and advice as well as composters, worms and accessories. Site also has great hints and tips