| York Rotters | York Rotters are a network of York residents who have been trained to give help and advice about home composting. York Rotters needs more volunteers to provide a network of local, friendly advice and support to people who already compost and those who want to start. If you would like to become a Rotter and/or would like some more information about the scheme or composting in general, please contact York Rotters Project Officer Keely Mellor on (01904) 411821, write to York Environmental Community Centre, Bull Lane, York YO10 3EN or email rotters@stnicksfields.org.uk |
It鈥檚 fair to say I went to meet Keely of York Rotters with a few pre-conceptions鈥 To be honest, I was convinced that composting was smelly, inconvenient and impossible unless you had a garden. Though I knew it was a 鈥榞ood thing鈥, it was definitely not something I could ever do, after all I live in a flat! I couldn鈥檛 have been further from the truth, and emerged from St Nick鈥檚 nature reserve with slightly grubby fingernails, plans for a compost bin and the ardour of a fresh convert to the world of wormeries, mulch and green waste. But what is composting and why should we all jump on the band wagon? Put simply, composting is rotting down green waste in an environmentally friendly way that doesn鈥檛 produce the nasties it does in a landfill site. The main culprit is methane, produced in bucket loads by green waste on landfill sites. It鈥檚 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and a major contributory factor to the Greenhouse Effect.
 | | Composting's not just for gardeners! |
In addition to helping to save the planet by putting less waste in landfill sites, composting could help you and your wheelie bin. Fortnightly collections are becoming more common across North Yorkshire, but fitting two weeks instead of one week鈥檚 rubbish into a bin can be a challenge. According to research conducted by York Rotters, just over a third of household waste in the city is organic, i.e. garden and kitchen waste (this figure refers to the waste by weight, rather than volume). In addition to garden and food waste, cardboard and paper actually aid the composting process, so these can be rotted down instead of clogging up your wheelie bin too. So more than a third of what I throw away could be composted? That did come as a bit of a surprise. But like a lot of people in York, I live in a place without a garden; in fact my flat means I don鈥檛 even have a yard. Undeterred Keely introduces me to the idea of a communal composting bin:
"We suggest that people try and site a compost bin outside in a communal area and make the other residents of the apartments and flats aware that they can put their green waste into it. We鈥檙e happy to provide several leaflets which you can put through your neighbours doors so they are aware of what materials that can and can鈥檛 be put in." | "a trendy flat is no barrier to taking responsibility for your own green waste! " | |
It seems that a trendy flat is no barrier to taking responsibility for your own green waste! Compost bins work best when placed on soil, so what about people who live in houses with concrete or paved yards? As you may have figured by now, York Rotters have envisaged every possibility. On sale for less than a tenner, you can buy a compost bin with a base which works perfectly well in back yards.
 | | Composting, a happy end for your rubbish |
So I鈥檝e been convinced that I should recycle and that it鈥檚 possible for me to do it, but what can I put in my compost bin? The answer depends on what type of bin you鈥檝e got. If your bin is rat proof, then you can throw in pretty much anything, presuming it鈥檚 organic obviously, there鈥檚 not much point in putting in plastic bags! And yep, you've guessed it, York Rotters have tips on how to make your bin rat proof. If your compost bin isn鈥檛 rat proof, then the only type of green waste that you can鈥檛 put in is cooked food, fish and meat. Tea bags, cardboard, grass cuttings, fruit and vegetable scraps are all perfect ingredients. However meat, fish and processed foods are a big no-no and could make it smell.听 Managed properly, Keely reckons it should be pong-free. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be smelly, it should be nice and safe and hygienic. We鈥檝e produced a step-by-step guide which enables people to get it right first time.鈥 Right, I鈥檓 off to peel some carrots so I can get mine started!听 Nick Midgley | 
