On Sunday (15 May 2022), we gave away 10 tonnes of peat-free compost to residents to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week (1 – 7 May 2022). Almost 600 bags were given away to keen gardeners from across the borough as well as two local
charities, DENS and Frogmore Paper Mill.
The giveaway was so popular this year that all the compost was gone within an hour, despite limiting to one bag per car half way through so that residents already in the queue wouldn’t miss out.
Bee-friendly wildflower seeds were also given out. Residents were excited to sow them to encourage pollinators and support nature locally, as well as brightening up their gardens and allotments.
If you missed out on the compost giveaway, you can still apply for free wildflower seeds in the Dacorum Climate Action Network (Dacorum CAN) seed giveaway.
The compost was kindly provided by Biogen - the company that recycles residents' garden waste into high-quality compost. This is a great example of a circular economy where garden waste is turned into a useful product that residents were very happy to
be able to use on their gardens.
The fact that this compost has all come from residents' recycled garden waste, also means that the compost is peat-free. This is important as the production of peat is bad for the environment, destroying valuable eco-systems and releasing carbon into
the atmosphere - which contributes to climate change. When choosing your compost always be sure to look for peat-free.
Have you tried creating your own compost? You could get your own home compost bin and transform your fruit and vegetable peelings and garden waste into your own nutrient-rich soil improver. Find out more about home composting.
If you find you’re always filling your green bin, you may be interested in our opt-in service to collect a second green-lidded bin (or more if required) for your extra garden waste. Find out more about our Additional Garden Waste Subscription Service.
