Home Composting

The Council encourages the community to recycle organic and green waste at home where possible.

Every year more than 2,200 tonnes of green waste is sent to the Victoria Flats Landfill.  The Council is committed to diverting this material from the landfill and encourages the community to recycle green waste at home.

Composting is a natural and cost effective way to recycle your kitchen and garden green waste.  Using it on your garden improves the nutrient levels in the soil, prevents erosion and improves water absorption.

How to make a top-notch compost heap

The key to top-notch compost is to keep the micro-organisms that process the waste healthy.  They need food, air, moisture and warmth – just like us!

Getting started

Your compost can be in a freestanding pile or kept in a bin or container.  You could make the container yourself or buy a ready made compost bin at your local hardware or gardening store.

What to put into your compost

• Kitchen scraps, vegetable peelings, tea bags and leaves, coffee grounds, grass clippings, hair, fur, sheep or horse manure, sea weed.  (Nitrogen rich materials)
• Paper, sawdust, straw, leaves, cereal boxes, cardboard, napkins, paper towels, tree clippings, vacuum cleaner dust, egg shells, wood ash.  (Carbon rich materials)
• Air and water.

What not to put into your compost

• Meat, grease, dairy products, large bones, food packaging, plastics, wood, pest plants, cat and dog faeces.

Tips and tricks

• Make sure your compost bin is in a sheltered area with good drainage and a small amount of sun.
• Encourage worms into the compost by breaking up the soil where the bin will be placed – this will also help with drainage.
• Start with a layer of course materials, such as branches or twigs to help drainage and air flow.
• Turn (or mix up) the compost every 4-6 weeks.
• Cover with soil or some plastic sheeting to retain the warmth and moisture.

Using your compost

Your compost is ready when it looks like potting mix (dark brown in colour with an earthy smell).  If there is still a lot of larger materials, sieve them out and return to the heap for a bit longer.

Use your compost on new gardens, flowerbeds, mulch, around trees and your vegetable garden.