Today (6 May) marks the beginning of the 13th International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), a seven-day campaign aimed at improving knowledge of home composting.

Sponsored by the U.S Composting Council, ICAW is celebrated across the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia ‘to rally composting advocates and build awareness in every community’.

A number of councils from across the UK will be encouraging people to take up composting as part of the campaign week, including: Monmouthshire, Leicester, Stockport, Knowsley, Solihull, Essex, Oxfordshire, as well as Welsh consumer campaign Waste Awareness Wales (WAW).

Waste Reduction Office for WAW, Lyndsey Stewart, said: “Many people don’t realise how simple it is to home compost or just how much of their household waste can actually be composted.

“As well as autumn leaves, grass and hedge clippings, vegetable peelings and egg shells, you can put shredded cardboard, tea bags and even the contents of your vacuum cleaner into your compost bin.”

“Once you’ve invested in a compost bin there are no further costs and you can have rich, homemade compost to use on your garden within as little as nine months. Anyone with outside space can compost as the bin can be set up on bare soil, concrete, tarmac or patio slabs and after filling up the bin all you need to do is wait.

Numerous benefits

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, composting has numerous benefits, helping to enrich soil with nutrients, remediate contaminated soil, prevent erosion, avoid the build up of damaging methane and leachate, and reduce the need for water, fertilizers and pesticides.

Furthermore, home composting helps prevent household waste reaching landfill and reduces the need for mass produced compost, which often contains peat, a valuable but increasingly dwindling natural habitat and store of carbon dioxide.

Events across the UK

In celebration of ICAW, councils from across the UK have set up events aimed at the promotion of home composting.

In Wales, the Isle of Anglesey County Council will be offering free compost bins at Holyhead market (13 May from 9.30am). Further events will take place in Caerphilly and Carmarthenshire, with a composting session for teachers taking place at the National Botanic Garden, Llanarthne (9 May).

A number of events have been set up across Oxfordshire, with the Groundwork Oxfordshire Green Schools scheduled to visit Long Furlong Primary School in Abingdon and Freeland Primary School in Witney, where children will learn about and perform their own experiments with compost.

Volunteers from Oxfordshire’s Master Composter team are set to be very active across the county, giving a talk at Millets Farm Garden Centre, near Abingdon and assisting at Cherwell District Council’s compost giveaway.

Cherwell's lead member for clean and green, Councillor Nigel Morris, said: "The annual compost giveaway has become a popular event in the Cherwell calendar and is now in its sixth year.

“This is an opportunity for us to say thank you to our residents for their continued efforts to support recycling across the district. It is also a chance for people to chat to our staff about any issues such as energy efficiency, home composting or any other council services."

Read more about International Compost Awareness Week.