Compost concern

I am happy that this material isn’t going to landfill, and is available for reuse as a soil improver, replacing peat use.

But my real love is home composting. The compostable materials don’t need to be driven anywhere, they don’t need a huge high-powered shredder or big turning machinery, nothing needs to be bagged up in new plastic sacks, and some say the quality of home made compost is higher as it rots more slowly, allowing fungi and worms to do some of the work.

Additionally, food waste can be composted at home, whereas the council green bins aren’t supposed to have this material put in them.

The compost giveaways have attracted lots of car drivers to make an extra journey, partly reducing the good that has come from diverting the green waste from landfill.

Some local authorities have given their compost away as a “big heap” in the centre of the town or city, the heap delivered by one lorry, and taken away with wheelbarrows and bikes or in cars which haven’t had to travel so far.

Could the compost be given away at the civic amenity sites, such as Hazel Court? Car drivers are already going there, and could leave with a load of soil improver.

I’m very glad that the council is supportive of home composting, as this is by far the best waste reduction method for biodegradable wastes. I don’t want Yorwaste to stop or reduce their Harewood Whin efforts either.

I’d actually like to see investment in “in vessel” composting so food waste can be taken from those who cannot compost it at home. But for next year’s Compost Awareness Week, can their compost giveaways be somewhere in town?

John Cossham, Hull Road, York.

A spokesperson for City of York Council said: “The council supports home composting and works closely with the York Rotters to make it as easy as possible for residents who wish to do so.

“However, the council also appreciates that many residents produce large amounts of garden waste, do not always have the room to home compost or have a use for the material produced.

“This is why the council undertakes kerbside collection of garden waste and passes it to Yorwaste to compost. The compost is not a high-quality potting compost, but is a very good soil improver or landscape material. It is not bagged and we have offered it to residents as loose material.

“The council considered the best way for the public to access the free compost and it was felt best to allow the public to go the Harewood Whin and collect however much they needed. With the public visiting the site, there were no difficulties with stocks running low. The site at Hazel Court has a restricted access and is not a huge site.

“The number of visitors to the last giveaway would indicate that attempting to do a similar exercise at Hazel Court, or elsewhere in the City, would pose a significant problem for site users, or visitors who were not there to collect compost, if a car park were used for example.

“The giveaway was a success, with hundreds of visitors coming to collect compost. Should a similar number attending the next giveaway it would simply not be possible to manage if it were anywhere else in the city.”