Recycling in Southend

Composting

As well as using your blue food waste bin to dispose of fruit and vegetable peelings, you can also compost them at home to re-use in your garden.

Many different materials can be recycled in a home compost bin. These include:

  • vegetable peelings
  • old flowers
  • fruit scraps
  • tea bags
  • coffee grounds
  • green garden waste such as weeds, grass cuttings, shrubs and hedge pruning's, leaves
  • bedding from vegetarian pets

Why compost?

  • composting is good for the environment as well as good for the garden
  • it saves you money, as you will no longer have to buy compost
  • compost improves all types of soils and helps to make them healthier - promoting plant growth and filling your garden with colour and life

For a guide to composting in seven easy steps, and other help and advice see Recycle Now.

Home composting allows you to reuse your garden waste materials in your own garden. If this is not possible the garden waste collection service offers an alternative way of reusing your green organic material. The garden waste service provides a weekly collection in either a wheeled bin or compostable sacks. Prices and further information can be found on our garden waste page.

You can buy the compost produced by Veolia at www.pro-grow.com.

What you cannot compost?

  • any food such as meat, fish, cheese - you can put these in your Blue Food Waste Bin
  • any pernicious weeds, like Japanese Knotweed - please contact the Environment Agency for details of how to dispose of this
  • carnivorous pet waste - only waste from vegetarian pets can be home composted
  • roots from perennial weeds

Where to put your compost bin:

  • on grass or soil, anywhere convenient, but easily accessible from the kitchen
  • if you need to put it on hard ground ensure that it has adequate drainage
  • choosing a sunny spot for your bin will mean that the bin heats up more quickly- speeding up the composting process
  • you can also place your compost bin in the shade, but the process will be a little slower

Find the latest home composting deals.

Contact recycling and waste

Telephone: 01702 215006

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