Eden urges gardeners to compost and relieve pressure on landfill

Gardeners at Cornwall’s Eden Project claim they’ve diverted 100 tonnes of food waste from landfill – by composting.
In a move aimed at encouraging gardeners to compost rubbish at home, Eden installed a huge on-site composter in 2005 which has now succeeded in converting 90 per cent of food waste into a nitrogen-rich soil converter.
Temperatures reach more than 60C during the 80-day composting process and the material that comes out is either mixed with soil or used as mulch.

“Using compost made from waste to grow new plants is a great illustration of Eden’s philosophy,” said the project’s horticulturist Darren Topps.

The UK must halve the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill by 2013, compared to 1995 levels. Experts, however, have warned that the country is not on track to achieve this target.


* News article supplied by Amateur Gardening Magazine