Garden and Food Waste

If garden and food waste is put into the standard rubbish bin it will be taken to a landfill site. At the landfill, air cannot get to the food and garden waste, so as the waste breaks down and rots it creates a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the Earth’s atmosphere.

Fruit, vegetable scraps and garden waste (including leaves and twigs, most weeds without lots of new roots, unsprayed lawn-mowings) should all be placed in the organic waste bin which will then be taken to a special place where it is made into compost (a type of material like soil that can be put on your garden to help new plants grow).

You can also make compost at home or school using vegetable scraps, fruit peelings, tea bags, garden waste like leaves and even paper towels.

When this garden and food waste is composted above ground at home or in the special composting places the oxygen in the air helps the waste to break down which means hardly any methane is produced, which is good news for the planet.

In some countries anything upto a half of the waste people produce could be turned into compost to help new plants to grow but instead is taking up space in landfills.

You can use a whole range of things to make compost:

  • Garden waste including leaves, grass cuttings, old flowers
  • Egg shells
  • Fruit & vegetable peelings
  • Tea bags
  • Bedding from vegetarian pets including rabbits and guinea pigs
  • Shredded paper and cardboard including cereal and egg boxes

Try a fun activity to learn how compost is made and it’s a great way to recycle something that would have possibly ended up in the bin. See how to make a Soil-arium / Compost Bottle on our Fun – TOCK Crafts page or CLICK ON THE PICTURE.

Soil-arium Compost Bottle – Watch the magic happen!