Home Composting

Buy the bin that makes your garden more beautiful and helps the environment. Recycling your kitchen and garden waste in your compost bin is easy to do, great for your garden and for the environment. So why not start now and spread the word and get your neighbours on board by introducing them to home composting?

COMPOSTING TIPS:
Add crushed egg shells and mussel shells to your compost. They won’t break down any further, but they will add valuable minerals such as calcium.

When you are peeling vegetables in the kitchen, wrap the scraps in newspaper before adding them to your compost bin. The paper will be a good ‘brown’ balance for the ‘green’ peelings and it is also a good way of controlling any fruit flies you may get in your bin.

You would like to compost old shredded paper and cardboard, but you are worried about the chemical composition of print ink and risk of an accumulated build up of harmful chemicals in the soil from composting printed paper and cardboard?

Well, you are not the only one. Your concern was the subject of a piece of research by the Centre for Alternative Technology. They ran a series of field trials and discovered that compost made from paper containing newsprint had no effect on the growth of plants. Whilst in the past some inks were metal based, vegetable based inks are now the norm so these biodegrade safely like the other waste in your compost bin and should not affect the growth of plants at all.

Avoid adding to your compost bin any paper or card that has any foil or plastic bits on - such as some wrapping papers, window envelopes or foil lined drink cartons - as these will not break down and you’ll be left with scraps of plastic and foil in your end product compost.

If you don’t need to use all of your finished compost, you can bag it up for future use. You can also store finished compost for up to a year. Old plastic sand bags are great for storing finished compost.

Always wear gloves when handling compost.

Click on this link to find more gardening tips and info.

BRANTFORD HOME COMPOSTER SALE:

May 5, 2007: Rain or Shine, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Canadian Tire Parking Lot. Come out and buy a composter for only $20.00. Available to City residents only, proof of residency required.

FREE COMPOST AT MOHAWK STREET LANDFILL SITE:

Starting April 30th, 2007: Free compost while quantities last, Mohawk Landfill, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Bag-your-own! Bring a shovel & containers, limit 2 bags per day.
Phone: 519-759-1350