Compost bin
Home composting kits are available from most garden centres
A home composting kit usually contains a composter, a kitchen caddy and an instruction guide. If you would rather make your own composting unit, then the spare materials you will need are:
- wood
- old pallets
- bricks
- breeze blocks
- chicken wire
Make your own compost bin on the BBC website
Where to put your compost bin
Your compost bin needs to be sited on bare earth in a sunny spot. You should put woody material or large stones underneath it to help with drainage.
How to use your compost bin
Mix your compost occasionally and keep it covered. It can take three to 12 months for it to be ready. You should end up with a dark brown, soil-like material.
Always use compost from the bottom of the bin, and add new material to the top.
Home compost bin guide
What you can compost
| Do compost | Don't compost |
|---|
| fruit and vegetable scraps | meat or fish |
| tea bags and used ground coffee | pet droppings |
| egg shells | dairy products |
| cooked vegetables | vacuum cleaner contents |
| grass cuttings | timber, plastic, glass or metal |
| leaves | tough woody material |
| weeds, dead plant material | perennial weeds |
| small amounts of cardboard and kitchen roll | diseased plants |
Noxious weeds
Some common plants cannot be composted as they may be harmful to human or animal health or to the composting process. The following plants have been identified as ‘noxious weeds’ and should be disposed of by incineration at the Energy from Waste Plant at La Collette.
- Ragwort
- Curly leaf and broad leaf dock
- Japanese Knotweed
Noxious weed leaflet
gov.je