Brighton and Hove City Council hopes to cut food waste by offering cut-price compost bins to people living in the area.
The council said that the home compost kits were being made available to mark International Compost Awareness Week, starting today (Monday 5 May) and running until Saturday (11 May).
It said: “Compost bins are being offered to residents at greatly reduced prices, as part of a special ‘share and save’ offer promoted in partnership with getcomposting.com.”
The “buy one get one half price” offer enables residents to team up with a family member, friend or neighbour to each get a compost bin. Prices start from £5 plus £5.49 for delivery.The council added: “Once put to use, household organic waste can be recycled into fantastic peat-free compost that will not only improve the quality of home-grown fruit and vegetables but increase yield.”
Councillor Pete West, chairman of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said: “More than 30 per cent of the average household bin can be composted and although many households already compost at home we want others to get involved.
“This is a great incentive to encourage more residents to get composting and set up their own composting communities, sharing the rewards.
“Once you get started, you will be surprised at just how much daily household waste can be composted – not just grass cuttings and unwanted plants but organic kitchen waste, fruit and vegetable peelings, teabags coffee grounds and even the contents of the vacuum.
“If you don’t have room for a bin, why not join one of the 30 community composting schemes in Brighton and Hove?
“Around 800 households have already composted six doubledecker buses’ worth of food waste, mainly used for allotments and urban food growing projects.”
He added that home composting also helped to cut carbon emissions and reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill.
The council said that a range of compost bins were available to suit new recruits and seasoned gardeners. For more details or to order, visit www.getcomposting.com or call 08445 714444.
For advice on reducing food waste, see the council’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign.
It aims to help people to learn how to waste less food, compost more and eat healthily while making savings on their household food bill.
