Start home composting today!
Where can I get a compost bin?
You can buy a home compost bin for €20.00 at any of the following Public Service Centres and Town Council Offices :
Where can I get more information on composting?
Download an excellent New Compost Booklet here.
For lots more information on composting visit Stop Food Waste for more great tips or call Suzanne Bogan, Waste Awareness Officer, Donegal County Council Tel : (074) 91 53900 or email: [email protected]
What can I put in my compost bin?
The following is a list of waste materials from your home and garden that can be added to a compost bin. You must make sure that you add a mixture of both the Green (G) and Brown (B) Materials.
Material
|
OK?
|
Comments
|
Tea Leaves/ Bags (G) and Coffee Grounds (B)
|
Yes
|
Squeeze excess water from tea bags.
|
Egg Shells (B)
|
Yes
|
Wash
and Crush
|
Kitchen Waste i.e. uncooked vegetables, peelings, skins and fruit etc (G)
|
Yes
|
|
Shredded Newspapers and soft cardboard (B)
|
Yes
|
Don’t use large quantities at once. Mix with fruit, vegetable or grass
|
Wood/Peat ashes (B)
|
Yes
|
Do not add these ashes if firelighters were used to start fire
|
Cut/Dead Flowers (G)
|
Yes
|
|
Pet/Human Hair (B)
|
Yes
|
|
Vacuum/Hoover Bag Contents (B)
|
Yes
|
Including paper part of bag
|
Grass Cuttings (G)
|
Yes
|
Do not add large amounts at once. Mix with paper/cardboard
|
Hedge Clippings / Prunings (B)
|
Yes
|
Slow to breakdown. Shred if possible
|
Old Plants (G)
|
Yes
|
Do not add if infected with disease
|
Weeds/Nettles (G)
|
Yes
|
|
Sawdust/Woodchips/Shavings (B)
|
Yes
|
Use if compost is too soggy
|
Pet Manure i.e. rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters (G)
|
Yes
|
Animals bedding can also be added
|
Hay and Straw (B)
|
Yes
|
In small amounts
|
Do Not Add the Following
|
|
|
Meat/Chicken/ Fish
|
No
|
May attract Vermin and Flies
|
Cooked Kitchen Scraps
|
No
|
Contain too much water
|
Cat/Dog Waste
|
No
|
Can contain parasites
|
Dairy Products
|
No
|
May attract vermin or flies
|
Persistent Weeds
|
No
|
Can infect Soil
|
Green Waste
Garden waste is biodegradable garden waste like hedge trimmings, lawn clippings, light branches and leaves which is a valuable resource within your garden. Recycling garden waste within the garden is the natural, sustainable option, reducing our impact on global warming and strengthening the soil's capacity to adapt to climate change.
GrassCycling:
GrassCycling is the natural recycling of grass by leaving grass clippings on the lawn when mowing. Once on the ground the clippings, which contain 80-85% water, decompose quickly returning valuable nutrients like nitrogen back into the soil.