Why Compost?

What happens to our rubbish?
We put rubbish we don't recycle in the bin and leave it for the dustmen to collect. After that, most of us don't give it a second thought, but once it's been collected from your home, your un-recycled rubbish will usually end up in a landfill site.

So what's wrong with that?
Most of the rubbish in a landfill site is all mixed up; clothes, food, wood, metals, paper, plastic, glass, creating a contaminated mess. The site will also get full up because more rubbish is added each day, so more space has to be found in our beautiful countryside for our waste. Landfilling our rubbish is also not good because:

It wastes natural resources (things that could be composted or recycled often end up in landfill sites)

Landfill sites produce methane, a greenhouse gas which is worse for climate change than carbon dioxide

It can lead to pollution of land and water because damaging chemicals are created when everything is mixed together

Landfill sites can cause traffic, noise, smoke, dust, litter, bad smells and attract pests

Is there an alternative?
Yes!

Biodegradable waste can be used to produce compost

Items such as glass, paper and plastic can be recycled

Both composting and recycling reduce the need to landfill by re-using the materials that would otherwise end up there

It also means we use less raw material or artificial fertiliser, which is better for the environment

Download pdf fact sheet.