Composting

Composting your kitchen and garden waste is easy!

All you need is the right composting bin and a little know how – and you can significantly reduce your household waste and create an excellent soil conditioner for your garden or houseplants.

No garden or small garden? There are indoor composting systems that take all your kitchen waste including meat, and cooked food. Whether you’re interested in indoor or outdoor composting, for more information about the variety of composting bins available, visit Leeds Get Composting

What is compost?

Compost is a dark brown earthy material used in gardens to improve soil, add nutrients and help plants and flowers grow.

Transform your kitchen and garden waste into a useful compost for your garden. The natural composting process rots down kitchen and garden waste to produce compost.

Compost is easy to make and use. Put your compost bin in a reasonably sunny site on bare soil. Put the following in your bin:

Yes please

  • Vegetable and fruit peelings
  • teabags
  • eggshells
  • torn up toilet roll tubes
  • egg boxes
  • cereal boxes
  • paper - especially shredded paper
  • grass cuttings
  • fallen leaves
  • soft prunings
  • old flowers

No thanks

  • Cooked food
  • meat or fish
  • dog waste
  • cat litter
  • nappies
  • no perennial weeds or weeds with seed heads. See GOV.UK guidance on noxious plants and weeds that shouldn't go into your bin

A mix of kitchen waste, garden waste and paper or cardboard is a good recipe. If your compost is too dry, add a little water. If it is too wet, add some shredded paper, crumpled paper or cardboard. For more information see our Guide on how to compost (PDF 2MB).

Within 12 months, your compost should become earthy, crumbly and moist with plenty of worms in it. Use it to mulch trees, enrich your borders and vegetable patch, and to add to planters and pots for your flowers and indoor plants.

For more information about composting see Leeds Get Composting, Recycle Now and Garden Organic websites, or see the How to compost video.

Special compost bin offer

To help get you started we can offer you some savings on home composting bins.

Order online now through Leeds get composting.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Do I need to mix the contents of my bin? Do I need to mix the contents of my bin? <div class="ExternalClass97F55D7155784AD08AA51FB4CDC92826"><p>It is not necessary to turn the compost however, if the contents have become dry, mushy or the composting process seems to have stopped it may be worthwhile. Turning the compost will add air to the bin which is needed for the microbes to breakdown the material and will speed up the composting process.</p></div>
I have flies in my bin, how do I get rid of them? I have flies in my bin, how do I get rid of them? <div class="ExternalClass351EF64182174793861A94F66A5327F0"><p>These will be fruit flies and are attracted by the sugars being released during the composting process. Leave the lid off your bin for a few hours and they should disperse. Wrap any fruit and veg in newspaper or kitchen towel and this should reduce the number of flies in your bin.</p></div>
The material in my bin is dry and not rotting down. The material in my bin is dry and not rotting down. <div class="ExternalClassDBBC2EA83F2F457BA91B76710CD861EA"><p>The composting process tends to occur in the middle of the bin. Check further down the bin. If contents are still dry mix it all up and add ‘green’ materials such as fruit and veg peelings, grass clippings.</p></div>
What can I use my compost for? What can I use my compost for? <div class="ExternalClassD04FB4BEAB3B483695BC86388DF1C267"><p>Your compost can be dug into your garden as a soil improver; it can be used as a mulch around plants; it can be mixed with other materials to make a potting compost.</p></div>
Where is the best place to put my compost bin? Where is the best place to put my compost bin? <div class="ExternalClassB0B039AFE08A499BBD0240ED10B0BD1A"><p>Ideally your bin should be placed on a bare patch of soil in a sunny position. This allows organisms such as worms and bacteria from the soil to move into your bin and begin the composting process and the warmth from the sun will speed up the process. Compost bins can be placed on concrete or paving slabs, but soil from your garden should be added at the bottom to introduce the required organisms.</p></div>
Why has all my compost turned mushy and slimy? Why has all my compost turned mushy and slimy? <div class="ExternalClassD332FD201A11442A93BC90EB750CF6E8"><p>There is too much ‘green’ material in your bin. Balance this out with ‘brown’ material such as shredded paper, torn up cardboard or small twigs.</p></div>
When can I start home composting? When can I start home composting? <div class="ExternalClassC528537B8C844473BEE155228970F5F5"><p>You can start composting at any time of the year. However, the composting process works better during the warmer summer months.</p></div>

 

 

Guide on how to composthttps://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/How to compost.pdf1782436pdf
Compost Week Competition terms and conditionshttps://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Compost Week Competition terms and conditions.pdf121664pdf

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