We are excited to announce that Horsforth now has a second Community Composting site, on Drury Field, to add to the successful one at Inspirations Nursery/West End School. The first Drury Field bin was built by local residents on 18th August, funded by Horsforth Climate Action, supported by FoodWise and their Compost Collective Project Worker, Annie Whitehead.
We are now looking for more local people who would like a free caddy to collect their food waste to add to the bin, contact volunteer@horsforthclimateaction.org
We are also keen to hear from other areas of Horsforth who would like a community composting scheme.
What are the benefits of a Community Compost Scheme?
Residents can reduce the volume of waste in their bins. It is estimated that kitchen waste makes up 35% of all domestic waste. Composting reduces domestic household waste and reduces the carbon footprint associated with waste removal and energy recovery.
Composting recycles ‘waste’ into a valuable resource. Scheme members have first dibs on the nutrient-rich compost for their gardens/allotments and any leftovers can be put to good use in the community, supporting growing projects.
How does the community composting scheme work?
The bins are locked and only accessible to people from the local neighbourhood who have signed up and received some basic training in composting.
Local volunteer compost monitors to keep an eye on the bins and give inductions to new members, organise a rota for turning the compost and generally be responsible for keeping an eye on the boxes and their contents. When members want to join the scheme, they are inducted by the monitor, receive the code for the padlock and a free kitchen caddy.
Phase 2 – The second build
Following on from the intial build in August, the site has been successful, with over 20 members bringing food waste to compost regularly and the bin is now more than half full. There have been no problems with litter or vandalism, so we were given permission to build the final 2 compost bins.
