Why Compost?
Composting at home is the simple way to help nature restore your garden’s health and vitality.
Home composting can help:
You, to save money on buying compost. Composting and gardening are also recognised physical activities that can improve your health and well-being.
The environment, by reducing waste sent for disposal, prevents the production of harmful gases and reduces the reliance on peat.
Your garden, by feeding plants, lightening heavy soils and helping light soils hold more water.
Getting Started
Getting started and making compost at home is easy, follow these simple steps to make great compost for your garden.
Step 1 – Position
- Placing your compost bin on bare earth is best, however composting organisms will still find their way in on paving slabs
- Position it somewhere where you’ll use it regularly
- Putting your bin in a sunny spot is recommended – a shady spot will also work but take longer
- Make sure you have space around the bin so you can remove the compost easily
Step 2 – What goes in my bin?
- Uncooked fruit and vegetable waste from your kitchen
- Hedge clippings, old bedding plants and other garden waste
- Your compost bin needs air – you can do this by adding whole egg boxes and scrunched up card
- Getting the right balance of materials that you put in your compost bin is key to producing good compost. Aim for approximately 50% greens (e.g. grass clippings, fruit and veg waste and leafy plant materials) and 50% browns (e.g. paper, cardboard, shredded paper and straw)
Click here for more information about what can and can’t be composted.
Step 3 – Your finished compost
- If you feed your bin regularly, it will take about 12 months to produce compost that can be used in the garden
- Your finished compost can sprinkled onto lawns, dug into borders and veg patches or used as a potting mix
Find out more in our Why Compost at Home Leaflet
Compost - Your Problems Solved
Are you having trouble getting your compost just right?
Is it too wet, dry or smelly? Do you have some unwanted residents? Click here for advice on how to deal with the most common home composting problems.
Is there something you’d like to know about your compost bin or heap and you don’t know who to ask? Fill in this form and one of our Master Composters will get in touch.
How to buy a bin
Online
Norfolk County Council have teamed up with
Get Composting to offer cut price compost bins
to Norfolk residents.
Prices start from just £15 (plus £6.99 for delivery) and you can buy one get one half price.
220 litre black bins at £15 (standard price £31)
220 litre green bins at £15 (standard price £31)
330 litre black bins at £21 (standard price £43)
330 litre green bins at £21 (standard price £43)
You can buy a reduced priced compost bin online at www.getcomposting.com or by telephone on 0800 316 4454. Please be aware that delivery can take up to 28 days.
At Recycling Centres
220 litre black compost bins are available to purchase from all 20 Norfolk Recycling Centres. They are available for £15 and you can buy one get one half price. Find your nearest local recycling centre here.
NB. This offer is limited to 2 compost bins per customer.
Bokashi Composting Method
Cooked food shouldn’t be put in your compost bin as it can attract rats, there are other systems that you can use to compost this type of waste.
Bokashi Bins allow you to compost all of your food waste including meat, fish, dairy products and any other organic material in one container.
Add your kitchen waste to your Bokashi Bin, sprinkle on a handful of Bokashi Bran and seal the air tight lid to start the fermenting process. After a few weeks your waste can be added to a conventional compost heap, or dug straight into the ground.
For Norfolk residents the Bokashi bin twin pack is available at a reduced price of £18 (standard price £36.50) from www.getcomposting.com
Make a Compost Bin or Wormery
Many people choose to make their own compost bins out of pallets, wire or other materials alternatively just make a loose heap in a garden corner! Take a look at this building a compost box guide for some great ideas.
Wormeries use worms to create dark crumbly compost from your kitchen and garden waste. If you haven’t the space for a traditional compost bin, you could find that worm composting is just the thing for you. This factsheet explains how to make a wormery from stacking boxes for a fraction of the cost of commercially available models.