SUMMER is here and it’s the perfect time to get out into the garden and create your own green oasis.
More and more people are growing their own fruit and vegetables, and demand for recycled compost at council giveaways has reached an all-time high.
This week is recycle week – the perfect time to get your own composter for all your food and garden waste.
Four-fifths of what we throw away can be recycled, and half of that is biodegradable, and can be kept at home and used to benefit the garden.
Composting is the perfect solution – it’ll save you a trip to the tip as all the garden rubbish you collect can be chopped up and put in your composter.
Next spring, you’ll have a lovely rich compost to perk up your garden – and make growing fruit and veg a whole heap easier.
To set you on your way, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is offering householders in Merseyside low-cost compost bins, delivered to the door.
Composting is a natural process which converts organic waste into compost by means of bacteria and micro-organisms.
The composting process is supported by larvae, wood lice, beetles and worms.
Moisture and oxygen are the other important factors in the composting process.
Most garden waste can be composted. I’ve loaded mine with grass cuttings, hedge clippings, weeds, leaves and kitchen waste.
We even put old egg boxes, scrunched-up newspaper and shredded bank statements in there.
As well as feeding the garden, it drastically reduces the amount of organic waste in landfill which can't break down properly and instead produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
Carl Beer, Director of Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority, says: "If people composted more, there would be less methane and carbon dioxide emissions – significant greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
"Composting also saves you money and helps to improve all soils.
"You can compost at home using garden rubbish, such as leaves and clippings, and kitchen rubbish, such as vegetables, fruit peelings and tea bags.
"Merseyside must stop throwing away such a useful and beneficial resource. Composting is a great way to do this, it’s nature’s own way of recycling."
Merseyside residents can now buy a composter at subsidised rates. There is a choice of three different sizes: a 220-litre compost bin, ideal for small gardens for £22, a 330-litre bin for larger gardens for £23, and a swish Komp 250-litre bin, for £55.
Each bin has £5 delivery, and you can buy a kitchen caddy for £4 with every bin. To buy, call 0845 077 0757 quoting reference WHC9 or go to www.recyclenow.com/compost, entering your postcode for the discount.
