AS part of this year’s International Compost Awareness Week (May 4 – 10), Nottinghamshire County Council’s Schools Waste Action Club is offering schools the chance to receive a free check-up to see how their compost bins are progressing.

SWAC ‘doctor’ Lydia Powles will be examining the contents of the compost bins to see how effective they’re being and will “prescribe” any necessary treatment to help the composting process along.

“The compost check-ups are part of an ongoing initiative by the County Council to raise awareness among school children of the benefits of recycling their organic waste into a useful garden product,” says Lydia.

“At the same time, this reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill where it would otherwise rot and produce the greenhouse gas methane.

”And because we’re expecting quite a lot of demand we’re going to be extending the visits beyond Compost Awareness Week – up until May 15.”

Since the project began in 2001, Nottinghamshire SWAC has successfully worked with over 250 primary, secondary and special schools helping them to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste.

Typical treatment ‘prescribed’ by the compost doctor includes:

adding in more ‘green’ items such as fruit skins and cores, teabags and raw vegetable waste

putting in more ‘brown’ items including shredded paper and torn up cardboard

pouring in a watering can of water when the contents look a bit dry

giving the compost a good stir with a broom handle or garden fork to let some air inside.

“This is another way of getting children interested in recycling from a young age and hopefully they will take what they learn home to share with their families,” added Lydia.

“About a third of the waste in household wheeled bins could be recycled into a rich organic compost which is an environmentally-friendly alternative to artificial fertilisers and peat, which is a dwindling resource.”

Schools interested in booking in for a free compost check-up should email [email protected] or contact Lydia on 0115 977 4936.