Maidenhead & Windsor

Maidenhead Gardens are set to grow even greener this year as Maidenhead Royal Borough residents discover the secrets of making perfect compost.

On Saturday May 13 council waste awareness officer Ankit Rao and Braywick Maidenhead countryside rangers will be joining forces for Braywick Compost Corner – the inside track on getting the right mix of kitchen and garden waste to make top quality food for plants and shrubs.

Part of Maidenhead Compost Awareness Week (May 7 – 13), the event is open from 12 noon to 4pm and geared for all ages. There will be lots of tips for composting successfully at home and fun activities for children, including the opportunity to make their own bottle wormery to take home! All children should be accompanied by an adult and should bring a washed 2 litre plastic drinks bottle.

There will be spot prizes for young composters, including recycled badges, fridge magnets, keyrings and pencils, while adults will have the chance to win one of six 330 litre compost bins absolutely free.

Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for Maidenhead public protection, said he hoped many borough residents would take advantage of this great opportunity to learn more about composting and getting their ingredients right.

He said: "Although 30% of borough waste is now being recycled, we can all do a lot more and we are looking for other ways to encourage residents to make their homes and gardens even more environmentally friendly. Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes and we want to get gardeners to go greener with their own composting bins.

"Composting is a great way of using kitchen and garden waste and reducing the amount of rubbish we send to landfill sites – and also the amount council taxpayers have to fork out for landfill tax, which has gone up another £3 a tonne this year."

More than 10,000 Maidenhead council-subsidised composters have been sold in the Royal Borough since 1997 and around 5,500 tonnes of green waste is currently collected for composting every year through the borough's green waste collection scheme.

Maidenhead Council-subsidised composters are still available for a discounted price of just £6, including delivery. Amazing value! Residents may order on line at www.getcomposting.co./wm or by calling the order hotline on 08451 130 60 90.

Organised by The Composting Association and supported by the Royal Borough, Compost Awareness Week aims to raise awareness of the benefits of composting. The theme of this year's event is Compost…Add power to your flowers.

DO compost:
· Uncooked vegetable peelings and fruit
· Hedge trimmings
· Grass clippings
· Leaves
· Scrunched up paper
· Tea bags and coffee grounds

Don't compost:
· Meat/bones
· Fish
· Dairy products
· Cooked food
· Coal ash
· Cat/dog litter/poo

Tips for top quality compost

* Put your compost bin in the garden on bare soil.
* Good compost needs the right mix of ingredients. Create a high carbon to nitrogen ratio – browns to greens. Dried flowers, woody stems and cardboard (browns) are high in carbon; fresh grass cuttings and kitchen waste (greens) are high in nitrogen.
* Composting works best if you add a lot of materials at once. Chop large items into small pieces to help speed up the process. Try to ensure your compost is moist but not wet. Add water if it is too dry, cover and add dry material if it is too wet.
* Every now and then introduce air into your bin either by using a garden fork to mix the material or add more scrunched up paper and card.
* To help speed up the composting process add a handful of soil, finished compost or a compost accelerator (young nettles are an excellent natural accelerator).
* Keep adding a good mixture of materials.
* Your compost will be ready to use when it resembles dark soil and has a sweet, earthy smell. This can take anywhere between 6 – 24 months.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead