Maidenhead & Windsor

Five thousand home composters are being given away by the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough to boost residents' recycling and reduce the amount of waste put into wheelie bins.

The 220-litre composters, which come with a free kitchen caddy, will be available on a first-come-first-served basis from Thursday February 14. They will give Windsor and Maidenhead people the opportunity to grow greener gardens with the help of compost made from their own kitchen and garden waste.

The promotion, run in association with WRAP (the Waste and Recycling Awareness Programme), flags up the council's commitment to sustainability and its determination to encourage residents to make recycling a priority in their own homes – particularly green kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings.

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead strategy, said: "Thanks to residents who are already working to reduce, reuse and recycle a great deal of their household waste, the borough is achieving a 35% recycling rate. However, we must all do more, and home composting is a great way to help reduce the amount of waste we put into our wheelie bins.

"The Royal Borough is a great gardening community and with spring just around the corner, now is a good time to take advantage of the council's free composter offer. Home composting is easy and it produces wonderful food for plants and flowers so that gardens can grow even more beautiful in the future."

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of the sustainability panel, said: "Continuing to send waste to landfill is just not an option. Not only is the council heavily taxed by government for every tonne and we face tough penalties if we fail to meet our waste reduction targets, but it is also completely unsustainable and damaging to the environment. Some 27% of the waste put into wheelie bins could easily be recycled and the council is taking a strong lead to motivate more residents into action."

Residents who would like a free composter should call 0845 077 0757 or order online at http://www.recyclenow.com/compost

Once the supply of 5,000 free composters has run out, 220-litre composters and also larger bins will be available to residents at reduced prices.
Visit www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/wm_home_composting.htm for more details.

Good materials for composting include: grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, dead flowers, twigs, weeds, fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, tea bags, cardboard and newspaper etc. Further information about composting is available on the council's website at www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/wm_home_composting.htm

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead