Green-fingered enthusiasts and budding gardeners will already know the benefits of composting at home, and during Mid and East Antrim’s Compost Week (3rd – 9th May), Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is helping to spread the message.
Since the council extended its food waste collection service in April 2017, it has redirected an additional 58,600 tonnes of green and food waste away from landfill, not only saving the council and ratepayers money, but the compost has been used as a ‘soil improver’ at the Council’s parks and open spaces.
Next week (3rd – 9th May), MEA residents are being invited to pop down to their nearest recycling centre and pick up a free bag of compost, which has been made from food and garden waste collected across the borough.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Peter Johnston, praised citizens for their recycling efforts.
He said:
“There has been an excellent response from our residents and I commend them for their overwhelming continued support in using their brown bins. This saves ratepayers’ money and also reduces environmental damage.
"It costs twice as much to dispose of food waste in a black bin as it does to recycle food waste from a brown bin. Unwanted food that ends up in landfill is the most polluting type of waste due to the release of harmful gases.
"Rather than pollute the environment, that waste is increasingly being put to a great use in Mid and East Antrim as high quality compost which is then made available to our residents. I encourage residents to pick up their free bag of compost during National Compost Week and get out sprucing up those gardens and growing vegetables, to support our borough as a sustainable food place.”
Reduced landfill costs as a result of using the brown bin for food and garden has led to up to annual savings of £200,000 – meaning those funds are available for other projects and work within Mid and East Antrim.
So pop down to your local Household Recycling Centre and pick up a bag of compost during Compost Awareness Week! (3rd – 9th May).
Please note, we have a limited supply of compost, therefore it is one bag per car, and when it’s gone, it’s gone!
If you would like any more information on food waste to compost, or to find out more about recycling, please visit:
https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/resident/waste-recycling or contact us on 0300 124 5000 (Option 0).