Composting

You may be surprised at how much of your waste can be composted at home. Fruit and vegetable peelings, crushed eggshells, paper, card and garden waste are all compostable. You can find out more about composting in our video below.

Why compost at home

More than 60 per cent of the contents of the average rubbish bin is biodegradable and over a third can be easily composted at home. This includes fruit and vegetable peelings, garden waste, tea bags, coffee grounds, cardboard and paper.

Purchase a low-cost compost bin

Buy a 330 litre black home compost bin for £20, from Malton, Northallerton, Seamer Carr, Selby, Skipton, West Harrogate and Whitby household waste recycling centres. This offer is limited to two compost bins per household.

North Yorkshire residents can also order compost bins online, from Get Composting. We offer 220 litre compost bins for £15, and 330 litre compost bins for £20. There is a buy one, get one half-price offer. Bins are available in available in black or green.

Buy a compost bin online from Get Composting

Payment must be made by credit or debit card only. These compost bins are only available to North Yorkshire residents - your address will be required for purchase.

The bins are made in the UK from 100 per cent recycled plastic, have a windproof secure push-fit lid and removable side hatch and are guaranteed for seven years. The bins do not include a base. When purchasing a compost bin from one of our household waste recycling centres please check your compost bin has a lid and side hatch before leaving the site.

To learn more about other methods of composting, see the alternative composting systems section below for more information. Products such as water butts, caddies, wormeries, hot bins and kitchen composters can also be purchased at Get Composting or other retailers.

More information

How to compost at home

Getting free, good quality compost from your bin is easy. You just need to put the right combination of ingredients in, almost like a recipe. Compost bins need a 50:50 mix of green and brown waste.

Green waste is nitrogen rich, is quick to rot and provides your compost with moisture.

Brown waste is carbon rich, is slower to rot, provides fibre and creates air pockets in the mixture.

Green: 50%	Brown: 50%
Vegetable peelings	Crushed eggshells
Salad leaves and fruit scraps	Egg and cereal boxes
Tea bags	Scrunched up cardboard and paper
Grass cuttings and old flowers	Toilet roll tubes
Coffee grounds and filters	Garden prunings
Young annual weeds	Vacuum cleaner bag contents - but avoid dust from synthetic or man-made fibre based carpets.
Nettles and comfrey	Shredded paper and documents

Placing your compost bin in direct or partial sunlight will help maintain higher temperatures inside and can speed up the composting process. To make sure you introduce air when adding materials to the mix, scrunch up cardboard and paper and add in twiggy materials from your garden. Cardboard egg boxes are an easy way to add air to your bin. This will reduce the need for regular turning.

Insulating the compost bin in winter with materials such as carpet or bubble wrap can help the composting process continue to work throughout the colder months.

Get help with composting

Our volunteer team of composters, called the North Yorkshire Rotters, can give you information and advice on how to compost. The Rotters attend numerous events across the county and deliver talks and demonstrations to local groups.

Please contact us for further advice or to volunteer.

Alternative composting systems

Normal compost bins can only take certain uncooked food waste and require space in a garden. However, there are other systems which may suit those who would like to compost all their food waste, including cooked food and meat, or who have limited outdoor space.

There are four composting systems that will take cooked food waste and meat scraps which could help eliminate food waste from your rubbish altogether. Wormeries can only take small amounts of cooked waste or meat, but they do come in a range of sizes which can fit into whatever space you have.

We have partnered with Great Green Systems to offer some great deals on food waste digesters and hot compost bins – these will help manage your food and garden waste at home. North Yorkshire residents can get up to 40% off on the Great Green Systems website.

Composting system	Description
Green Johanna	The Green Johanna was developed to provide a successful way of composting both food and garden waste. The bin has a fixed rodent-proof base, an adjustable ventilation system and optional insulating jacket so composting can take place all year round. Green Johannas work in the same way as a traditional compost bin where food waste is added and compost is produced. The design enables the contents of the bin to reach higher temperatures, speeding up the composting process. Unlike a traditional compost bin, you can include cooked and processed food, such as dairy products, fish, shellfish, meat, bones, bread, cheese and pasta. Green Johanna fact sheet
Bokashi bin / kitchen composter	All food waste, including cooked and uncooked meat, fish, bones, dairy products, bread, pasta, fruit scraps and vegetable peelings, can be put into a bokashi bin. Food waste is added to a special caddy on a daily basis along with a handful of special bran containing friendly micro-organisms until it is full. It is then left to ferment for two weeks before being added to a compost bin or dug into the ground. Two caddies are used; whilst the first one is fermenting, the second one can be filled. The tap allows you to drain the liquid which can be used as a nutrient rich plant food. Bokashi bin fact sheet
Green Cone	A Green Cone is a specially designed digester for cooked and processed food waste. Micro-organisms and worms already present in the soil will break down the waste and convert it into water and carbon dioxide and a small amount of residue. Green Cones are easy to use but need to be dug into a sunny position in the garden. All food waste, including cooked and uncooked meat, fish, bones, bread, dairy products, vegetables, fruit, tea bags and eggshells, can be placed into the bin. It cannot accept garden waste. Green Cone fact sheet
Wormery	Composting worms digest foods such as fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, a small amount of cooked food scraps, shredded paper and card. Composting worms digest food waste to produce a high quality, nutrient rich, textured compost. Another by-product of a wormery is a nutrient rich liquid which can be used as a plant food once diluted. Wormery systems are small, compact and useful for homes with small gardens or balconies. Wormeries Fact Sheet

Using your compost

After nine to 12 months, in optimum conditions, you will have finished compost.

You can use your compost:

to enrich your borders by spreading a 5cm layer of compost over the existing soil, or digging the compost into the soil before planting
on flowerbeds by digging a 10cm layer of compost into the soil before planting;
as mulch - compost which is not fully broken down - by adding a layer of about 5cm over your flowerbeds
around trees by spreading a five to 10cm layer around the roots - not too close to the base of the tree
to replenish pots by removing the top layer of existing soil and replacing with freshly made compost
to feed your lawn by mixing with sand and spreading a thin layer of about 2.5cm over the lawn
to grow healthy herbs and vegetables by simply adding compost around the base of the plants

Winter composting advice

During the colder winter months, activity in your bin will slow down dramatically. However, there are several ways you can extend the composting season:

insulate your compost bin with reused materials such as cardboard, old fabric, an old duvet, polystyrene packaging or bubble wrap - the compost fauna's metabolism slows down as the temperature falls, so you can sustain ideal composting conditions for longer by insulating your bin
keep adding to your compost bin even when it seems like no compost activity is occurring - a balanced mix of green and brown ingredients will help maintain a favourable habitat for soil micro fauna and also add insulation to the top of your compost bin, retaining more heat
chop or shred all your compostable material as small as you can to increase the surface area the soil fauna can access and speed up the decomposition process
kick start your bin with a natural accelerator - adding heat-generating nitrogen high ingredients such as rabbit or chicken droppings, nettle leaves, comfrey leaves / tea, or even urine, can speed up the process
air is essential for successful composting, but turning the pile in winter can lead to significant heat loss - instead, try to add items which hold pockets of air to feed the bacteria such as toilet roll tubes, scrunched up newspaper and egg boxes - this will ensure a supply of oxygen without disturbing the heap

Bagged compost available to purchase from Household Waste Recycling Centres

Yorganics is a 100% recycled, peat free, locally sourced and compost produced in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. Garden waste from households is recycled into a high quality compost that meets the British Standards Institution (BSI) PAS100 standard. It is ideal for both domestic, horticultural and agricultural uses. Find out more about Yorganics Compost.

£5.00 per 40 litre bag