14th February 2020 / Prue Fletcher: Composting 101: All You Need To Know

What is Composting?

Composting is nature's way of recycling organic food waste into nutrient rich soil for your garden.

There are a variety of ways you can effectively work towards reducing your household waste, such as:

1. Composting with a traditional outdoor bin.

2. Composting with an urban composter specifically designed for apartment living. (Just use a special spray on your scraps and let them ferment before being buried in your garden.)

3. Starting a worm farm.

4. Having your chickens eat your food scraps.

5. Don't have a green thumb? Some of your neighbours are willing to compost your food scraps of you!

Visit sharewaste.com to find out who.

Why compost?

The majority of food waste in our household is avoidable. On average, the Boroondara & Whitehorse household waste bin contains between 44-46 per cent food waste. This is food that is thrown out that could have been eaten.

This includes excess leftovers, food that is past its 'use by' or 'best before' date, or food that has gone off.

It also includes foods which many people throw away that are full of nutrients, such as broccoli stalks and various vegetable peels.

Want to learn more?

We recommend you watch the documentary, 'Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story' on Amazon Prime.

Some other great benefits to composting include:

1. Supporting your local flora and fauna by creating 'black gold' for your garden.

2. Keeping the materials out of landfill, which will allow you to avoid transporting heavy wastes, saving on fuel and energy.

3. Assisting in the reduction of global warming.

What Goes Into Compost?

All compostable materials are either carbon or nitrogen-based. A simple rule of thumb is to use one-third nitrogen and two-thirds carbon materials in your compost.

Where Do I Start?

For residents of the Inner-East, local councils are now offering discounts on compost bins and provide a wide range of support to help get you started.

Visit your council websites for access to both online and in-person tutorials.

If you have any other great tips worth sharing, I'd love to hear from you!

Prue Fletcher
Brand & Lifestyle Ambassador
prue.fletcher@fletchers.net.au
@prue_fletcher