Start recycling with cheap compost bins

11.48.10am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 18th Sep 2009

• RICHMOND Council is encouraging residents to get composting this autumn, and is reminding everyone they have less than a fortnight left to take advantage of buying a compost bin at bargain prices.

The Council is working with WRAP - the Waste and Resources Action Programme -to sell compost bins for just £10, but potential buyers must hurry as the offer ends on 30 September. The offer is designed to help locals to do their bit for the environment without the tug on the purse strings and has proved popular with more than 3,900 compost bins already having been sold in Richmond upon Thames since the scheme was set up.

Cllr Geoff Acton, Richmond Council's Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

"If you want to do your bit to help the environment, but aren't sure how to incorporate recycling into an already busy lifestyle, then composting at home is an easy way to make a difference.The Council is now challenging people to think carefully about how much rubbish they produce in the first place, and composting is an ideal way of making use of every scrap and keeping your waste as low as possible."

Recycling kitchen and garden waste by putting it in a compost bin not only produces nutritious compost to help gardens bloom, but it also reduces the amount of waste we leave out for recycling or send to to landfill. About a third of household waste can be composted at home - this includes kitchen and household waste like egg shells, kitchen paper, fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and even shredded bank statements, as well as garden waste such as grass cuttings, prunings and twigs.

Every day thousands of tonnes of this kind of waste are sent to the tip, producing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, when it rots down in landfill. If you put your household and kitchen items into the compost bin this prevents it from being sent to landfill and provides you with high-quality, free compost for you to use in your garden. The bins available in the offer are 90cm high and 74cm in diameter and cost £10, with £5 delivery. The manufacturer's suggested cost is £39.

Visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or call 0845 076 0223 to order your bin.

Related Link:

• Richmond has highest recycling rate in south west London [RTT, 11th August]