COMPOST COURSE THROUGH MY COUNCIL

Today I attended a FREE course run by my local council on Composting. I recommend checking your local council website to see what workshops are available for you. Local Council's are supporting the efforts of residents, by running free or very cheap workshops...Some councils supply free compost bins if you attend the course...What an excellent incentive for attending a workshop! The compost bin I will receive when I pick it up is a 120 litre original waste bin...the base has been removed to allow contact with the earth...and the lid is still intact. Excellent!! Monday morning bright and early I will pick up my new compost bin.

Please note: This is based on the recycling facilities for Shellharbour Council...

Check with your council for more details.

What I learnt while attending the course

Here is a table I created.

COMPOST FOR LIFE Get Involved, Protect, Conserve www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au  Remember: Yellow Compost bin items are sorted by hard-working real people of the community.
YELLOW topped Bin	GREEN topped Bin	RED topped Bin
· Aerosol cans – (emptied & lids removed) · Aluminium · Bottles · Butter containers · Cake/biscuit trays · Cardboard · Chinese containers · Clear plastic cups · Coffee cup lids · Envelopes (with/without windows) · Foil bag from biscuit box · Foil trays · Food cans · Glass bottles · Make-up jars –(emptied) · New fridge/tv polystyrene packaging · Paper · Pens-outer case · Pizza boxes –clean · Plastic tubs · Printer cartridges · Pudding tubs · Soda bottles · Textas · Toothpaste tubes – (emptied) · Tupperware · Water bottles · Yoghurt containers · NO BROKEN GLASS	· Anything from the garden · Small twigs · Cuttings · Grass clippings · NO FOOD SCRAPS · NO DOG POO	Any residual waste that cannot be placed in either the yellow or red bin. · Any plastic bags you can scrunch in your fist. · Diabetic needle tops · Juice cartons · Long Icy-Pole wrappers · Nappies-disposable · Newspaper wrappers · Pizza boxes –dirty · Polystyrene cups & trays. · Popper cartons · Timber off-cuts · UHT Milk Cartons · Coloured Junk Mail · NO COMPUTERS · NO TV’S

Now here is another table I have created.

Looking even closer at your recycled items.

BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE YELLOW BIN
THINK ABOUT HOW ELSE IT CAN BE USED
YELLOW topped Bin	HOME COMPOST BIN	RECYCLE & REUSE
· Aerosol cans – (emptied & lids removed) · Aluminium · Foil bag from biscuit box · Foil trays · New fridge/tv polystyrene packaging · Pens-outer case · Printer cartridges · Textas · Toothpaste tubes – (emptied) START A BATTERY RECYCLING TUB AT HOME Have a purple ice-cream container in your home recycle area & label for small batteries. See below for a drop off point.	· Cardboard · Envelopes (with/without windows) · Paper · Pizza boxes –clean · Garden waste · Small twigs · Grass clippings · Food scraps · Onion skins · Egg shells · Fruit seeds · Vacuum waste · Dryer lint · Newspapers – shredded · Icy Pole sticks ADD A BOKASHI BUCKET TO YOUR HOME COMPOST SYSTEM · Food scraps · Meat scraps · Chicken fat · Animal bones · Cooked leftovers · Breads · Pasta & Rice	· Bottles · Butter containers · Chinese containers · Clear plastic cups · Coffee cup lids · Food cans · Glass bottles · Make-up jars –(emptied) · Plastic tubs · Printer cartridges · Pudding tubs · Soda bottles · Tupperware · Water bottles · Yoghurt containers · Cake/biscuit trays · USE SMALL TUBS FOR RAISING SEEDLINGS · DONATE UNWANTED ITEMS TO A PRE-SCHOOL · REUSE CORDIAL CONTAINERS AS CANNISTERS (eg Rice, Sugar, Flour)
·  PRINTER CARTRIDGES: All types and brands can be recycled via the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ recycling boxes in participating Australia Post, Officeworks, Harvey Norman,Tandy, Dick Smith Electronics and Powerhouse stores. ·  CORKS: Guides Australia collects wine and champagne corks nationally through a network of individuals and collection points at hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. ·  MOBILE PHONES: These can be recycled via most mobile phone outlets. ·  PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS: These can be recycled at most Coles, Woolworths, Franklins and Safeway supermarkets. ·  BATTERIES: Batteries of all sizes can be recycled via Battery World near Bunnings.

After learning so much on composting..................

I am excited to compost more of the items I use at home.

I have a whole new list of items to add to my Bokashi bucket..........

and I am determined to start a proper recycling area at home in the near future.

So you will have to check back and see how its going.

We also learnt about starting a worm farm...10,000 worms were included as a raffle, but divided by the winner and shared with 3 other people....How lovely! I took home some worms too, but that will be another post in the next few days.

If you have any other ideas..please don't hesitate to leave a comment. After all, we need to learn from one another....Recycle your knowledge and pass it on.