Confounded by compost? Bewildered by bokashi? Flummoxed by worm farms? Or perturbed by pet poo?

Autumn is a great time to clean up your garden and start a composting system, but there are many ways to compost so it can be tricky to know which system is best for you.

Kāpiti Coast District Council senior waste minimisation adviser Eilish Andrews says the Council’s twice-yearly ‘Love Your Compost’ workshops are starting soon and are the perfect way to work out the best composting system for your household’s needs.

“When food and garden waste goes to landfill it rots, rather than composting. This produces methane, which is a harmful greenhouse gas, and all the goodness of the organic matter is lost in the sealed landfill.

“Unfortunately, on average half of what we put in our rubbish bins in Kāpiti each week is food and garden waste, which is such a wasted resource,” Ms Andrews said.

“Another ‘fun’ fact is that if global food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. That makes it a massive contributor to climate change.

“By composting your food and garden waste you can make a positive impact on climate change, reduce your waste going to landfill, and improve the health of your soil by enriching it with organic matter and nutrients. It’s a win-win-win!” she said

“What’s more, the workshops are free. Council also has free $40 vouchers for Kāpiti residents to put towards the composting system of your choice, whether you attend a workshop or not. We have a lot of online information which tells you everything you need to know to get started yourself,” Ms Andrews said.

The workshops cover conventional composting, worm farms and bokashi systems, and there are also workshops on composting weeds and how to compost pet poo.

Workshops are being held in the Ōtaki and Paraparaumu libraries, ‘in the field’ at the Raumati Village community garden, Ōtaki college, and online. You’ll need to register for the online and community garden workshops, but no bookings are needed for the library events which will be held indoors.

Find out more about composting, the workshops, and the vouchers at www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/LoveYourCompost

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