Can I compost Bracken?

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) is a common sight in the British countryside. Although less common in gardens, it can creep in and its a tough plant to remove.

Bracken is typically fern-like, producing triangular fronds, divided into three, that can reach over 1.5m in height.
Bracken should be treated with caution because it contains carcinogens. If you are chopping back bracken we advise not to do so in late summer when the spores are released, particularly in dry weather.

The fronds do though make a good addition to the compost heap where they will rot down and enhance the nutrient content of your compost.  Bracken produces numerous spores, but in our experience these seldom seem to germinate and grow in the compost heap.   Our prefered recommended approach to this plant is to wait until autumn when the fronds turn brown and die back to ground level and this dead bracken can be more easily removed and then we suggest compost it separately in the same way as tree leaves are collected and rotted down to make leafmould. 

Love Food Hate Waste launches free phone app

The Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) campaign has today (April 24) launched a phone app to assist with food budget planning, shopping and making the most of left-overs and recipes while on the go.

Love Food Hate Waste has launched a phone appThe free app is available for both iPhone and Android devices, and includes features such as a portion planner and meal planning diary; hundreds of recipes; and a ‘My kitchen’ section, which enables users to store details of all the foods stored at home.

The app also offers a ‘My profile’ area where users can record what they have cooked, culinary ‘achievements’, and, the chance to opt for connecting via Facebook or Twitter with friends and family who also use the app.

LFHW’s Emma Marsh said: “Wasting less food is not only good for our pockets, but it’s also good for the environment, helping to save energy and water, and reducing our carbon footprint. By making all this information available via the new free app, we want to make it even easier for people to get the most from the food they buy.”

The LFHW campaign is funded by the non-profit Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

Composting Dandelions

Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are a perennial weed with a long root that makes them difficult to remove from the soil.  If left unmanaged they can spread rapidly all over the garden and  so for this reason, most gardeners try to remove dandelions where they can normally by being hand-pulled or dug up, before they go to seed helps prevent them spreading. 

One of the questions we sometimes get asked by the public when attending events with Shropshire Master Composters - is whether or not to compost them.  

Well... as is so often the case - the answer is rarely black and white!

 

Benefits of Composting Dandelions

• By adding dandelions into the compost you are adding minerals and nitrogen to the compost. When that compost is laid down or dug into the garden, the decomposed dandelions provide nutrients plants need to thrive. In addition composting dandelions reduces the need for garden waste collection and treatment and can help to reduce waste to landfill.

Disadvantages of Composting Dandelions

• The problem is where dandelions are adding it is possible for them to take root and grow in the compost.   They can then go to seed and spread further. 

How to Compost Dandelions

• First and foremost, dandelions should be pulled before they got to seed.  One of our volunteers recommended that if you are composting dandelions (or other perenial weeds) its even more important to get your compost heap really hot and you do that by a) adding a large quantity of waste at once and b) turning the pile over frequently - to fire up the bacteria and stimulate more hot rotting.  Another tip is to not just toss them in loose on top of the heap but try and get them into the center of the pile where its at its  hottest.  In this way you should make sure that any seeds are killed off by the temperature and dont spread around the garden again when you use the compost. 
  
  For more information visit www.homecomposting.org.uk 
  
  

Composting Leylandii

The miraculously fast growing Leylandii, a.k.a. the Leyland Cypress is the enemy of many a neighbour from hell as if neglected they can grow one metre in height within just a single year!  As you can imagine if you do have such a plant, you need to keep it regularly trimmed and this means you are going to generate literally tonnes of hedge clippings every year.

So the question which arises of course is can you compost leylandii branches and clippings?

Of course the answer is yes, its a natural plant so it will rot down and we have seen people produce nice compost successfully from this.

But alot of people seem to think its a problematic plant.  We were quite surprised to learn one experienced master composter advise another not to compost leyandii cuttings as they were  apparently “too acidic”.  This is not really an issue because composting bacteria can remain active is all but the most acidic conditions and the process of composting ultimately even if it starts out as a relatively acidic heap will return to neutral pH if aerated!

We would say to take care to ensure they are well shredded and only add in small amounts.  This is the biggest challenge with leylandii – even most hedges with frequent cuts can generate wheel barrows of waste. A large cutback results in many branches that are really hard to shred.

The other issue is that Leylandii and other evergreen material take a long time to decompose, over five years in some cases. In general they are very acidic and the leaves or needles tend to have an almost rubbery texture, which repels moisture penetration and microbial attack. Decomposition can be speeded up by shredding them or by running a lawnmower over them if the branches are not too thick. Large quantities which would fill a compost bin should perhaps be taken to the Councils Recycling Centres instead as they sent their green waste for industrial composting and this is more capable of processing such large quantities of robust material. 

So ultimately the answer depends on how patient you are and how much space you have for composting, if you are prepared to leave them long enough though, they will go and they will produce a nice compost.  

Old Spice

Lots of foods are wasted in relatively small amounts but together they have a big impact, financially and environmentally! We buy and then throw away 200,000 tonnes of condiments, sauces, herbs and spices every year in the UK, costing us £700 million.   Curry spices are a good example of something which appears to produce only small amounts of waste but due to the price the value is very significant.


Of all the sauces that we waste, cook-in sauces like pasta or curry sauce; and gravy, are the most commonly wasted - normally because we cook or serve too much of them, and then throw them away. Whether it’s half a jar of tomato sauce or a couple of spoonful’s of leftover jam it all adds up! Love Food Hate Waste has plenty of hints and tips to help everyone make the most of their favourite sauces and condiments, waste less, and save more. Find out more, get great hints and tips and recipe ideas in our 'It All adds Up' feature on the Love Food Hate Waste website.

Shropshire powers ahead with cooking oil recycling

Staff from Shropshire Council and Veolia are celebrating the success of a green energy iniative which has seen them presented with an official certificate of commendation in recognition of the fact that 6,740 Litres of used cooking oil has collected from Household Recycling Centres in Shropshire in the last year alone.

The cooking oil collected by renewable energy provider Living Fuels was refined into a green biofuel which has been used in their dedicated combined heat and power generators to create 25,275 kWh of green electricity.


The big green tanks are clearly marked and are now in place at:

• Shrewsbury HRC (Battlefield Enterprise Park)

• Oswestry HRC (Mile Oak Industrial Estate)

• Bridgnorth HRC (Barnsley Lane)

• Whitchurch HRC (Waymills Civic Park)

• Craven Arms HRC (off Long Lane)

Donald Macphail, Regional Director for Veolia in the Midlands said “Just one litre of used cooking oil generates enough clean electricity to make 240 cups of tea, whilst one tonne provides enough to power the average home for an entire year. This offsets the need for fossil fuels to create electricity which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

Larry Wolfe, Head of Waste Management at Shropshire Council added, "It's great that the public have responded well to this new recycling initiative. By bringing their used cooking oil to our Household Recycling Centres they are helping to reduce the amount of rubbish which ends up in landfill."

For more about the used cooking oil recycling process, visit www.livingfuels.co.uk  

Top tips for recycling your used cooking oil:

1. Allow the oil to cool completely before dealing with it

2. Strain it into a container such as an plastic bottle or jar with a lid

3. Don’t mix it with anything (solvents, water etc) or it wont be recyclable

4. Once full, take your oil to a HRC (don’t make a specific trip but wait until you are visiting anyway or are in the area)

5. Ask the site attendants for directions or assistance if you need it

6. The oil should be poured into the clearly marked tanks

Shropshire Composters Seminar

Volunteer Master Composters from all around Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin got together this week to discuss ways to help reduce waste in Shropshire. The event particularly focused on food waste and was hosted at the Councils Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury which was set up as an incubator unit to develop new food related businesses within the county.


We were given an excellent presentation by Garden Organics National Home Composting Programme Co-ordinator Alex Heelis about a research project she has been involved with which has demonstrated that getting households to separate food waste off for home composting can actually produce a waste prevention effect by heightening their awareness of the scale of food waste generally.

Around 20 volunteers attended the event along with representatives from the local waste authorities also attended to update the volunteers about their plans for improving waste management awareness, services and infrastructure in the county to help reduce the amount of waste which we create in the first place as well as minimising what has to go to landfill.

The event was sponsored by Veolia Environmental Services, the Councils waste contractor.