Recycling Organic Waste

In 2008/09 residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough composted over 103,486 tonnes of garden and food waste through centralised composting provided by their local council. Studies by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) have found that our household rubbish is made up of 37% organic waste (17% kitchen waste and 20% garden waste), which means that in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough we still sent over 42,500 tonnes to be buried in the ground. When our kitchen and garden waste is deposited in landfill sites it decomposes, to produce methane, a potentially explosive gas, which contributes to climate change.

How can I compost my garden cuttings?

There are three ways of doing this, by home composting, through your kerbside composting collection or through your local recycling centre.

What happens to my garden cuttings?

All the materials that you put into your kerbside composting collection is taken to one of three, locally based composting sites. These sites compost your waste just as home compost bins do but on a larger scale! The procedure is strictly controlled and it can take several weeks for your waste to turn into beautiful compost.

The compost is sold to farmers, garden centres and to the public directly. See our centralised composting page for details.