How to compost

Put your composter in the garden on soil or grass. Do not place your composter on concrete, paving or decking. To make it easy to use make sure that it is placed in an accessible area.  Put your grass, garden clippings, dead flowers, and vegetable peelings in your composter as and when you have some.

You should ensure that you have a 'mix' of 'green' and 'brown' materials:

• 'Green' materials are soft and wet, such as grass cuttings.
• 'Brown' materials are harder and drier, such as clippings and fallen leaves.

You should try to add equal amounts of types, as neither will compost successfully on their own.

You should avoid adding large quantities of woody stems - you can take these to your local recycling centre.

Composting will work best if you add lots of materials at a time and layer the 'green' and 'brown' materials in your composter. Make sure that large items are chopped into smaller pieces to speed up the composting process.

Try to ensure that your compost is moist, but not too wet. If the compost is very dry, then you should add water, but if it is very wet then you should add dry material (this can include cardboard torn into pieces).

What can I compost? A quick guide

YES - You can compost	YES - You can put in a wormery	NO - Not suitable for composting
Grass cuttings	Cooked / raw leftover food	Coal ash
Dead cut flowers	Meat	Cat / dog litter
Vegetable / fruit peelings	Dead cut flowers	Any fats / oil
Soft hedge clippings	Vegetable / fruit peelings	-
Weeds (avoid persistent weeds)	Fish and cheese	-
Rabbit / guinea-pig bedding	Shredded paper and card	-
Shredded paper and card	Tea bags and coffee grounds	-
Leaves	-	-
Old plants	-	-
Tea bags and coffee grounds	-	-