Prizes up for grabs at recycling roadshows!

Teignbridge residents are invited to two home composting roadshows in Newton Abbot where they could be in with the chance of winning a luxury hamper!

The roadshows, run by Recycle Devon and supported by Teignbridge District Council, will give people the chance to buy a compost bin and get advice and tips about home composting.

They take place on Friday 8 September – 9am to 3.30 pm and Friday 22 September 9 am to 3.30pm in Newton Abbot near St Leonard’s Clock Tower.

Residents who sign a pledge to compost more, use their food waste collection or sign up to the Recycle Devon e-newsletter, could win a luxury hamper packed full of food and gardening goodies including food waste gadgets and tasty Devon produce.

Councillor Kevin Lake, Teignbridge District Council’s Portfolio holder for Waste and Recycling, said: “Recycling is one of the best ways for you to make a positive impact on the world in which we live. There are many good reasons for adding recycling to your routine, ranging from giving your soil more goodness to helping the environment.

“Home composting is nature’s recycling service, allowing households to recycle a substantial amount of their waste without it ever leaving your home. If you are interested in recycling and composting, or if you want to know some more about it, you are welcome to stop by, say hello and be in with a chance of winning a luxury hamper for your recycling efforts!”

Making compost is a great natural process that can transform kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden with at least 30% of the contents in an average household bin able to be used by this way.

Composting at home over 12 months can reduce carbon emission equivalent to that produced by a kettle in a year or a washing machine over three months. It also cuts down on the use of chemical fertilisers, something which can be harmful to our water supply.

Composting at home couldn’t be easier by following three simple steps:

• Find the right site: Ideally a sunny site on bare soil
• Add the right ingredients: 50/50 mix of greens (for example grass, vegetable peelings and cut flowers) and browns (for example cardboard, egg shells and kitchen paper)
• Be patient: It takes about 9 to 12 months to produce good quality dark brown, crumbly compost so in the meantime keep topping up with greens and browns.

All compost bins offered by Teignbridge are made from 100% recycled materials.

For more information visit www.teignbridge.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste