A Waste and Resources Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) is currently taking place in South Ayrshire, highlighting the benefits of home composting.

The comprehensive campaign aims to promote and encourage home composting in South Ayrshire, with all the costs of the campaign, including the supplying of home composting bins, being met by WRAP.

The sale of home compost bins is being promoted, and at a later date further campaigns will be run to encourage householders to ensure that they continue to use their compost bins at home. This is vitally important in South Ayrshire as the Council has previously offered home recycling bins at very low prices to encourage people to home compost, and the campaign will hopefully encourage those who have stopped composting at home to start again.

As part of WRAP a full time home compost advisor is working solely within South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway to facilitate the programme.

An introductory offer postcard is being delivered to all households within South Ayrshire, as no database is available to WRAP to identify only those properties with gardens. However, people may move from a home with no garden to one with a garden and then have room for a home composter, so it is vital that everyone knows about home composting.

National Compost Awareness Week commences on 2 May 2005, and home composting will be further promoted then. In an effort to connect with people across South Ayrshire advertisements will appear in the local press, posters will be displayed, display boards will be circulated at a variety of locations including some DIY stores and garden centres.

As well as in South Ayrshire the WRAP campaign is also being run in Dumfries and Galloway and the Forth Valley. In total there are 231,219 houses in South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and the Forth Valley, of which 89% have a garden or access to a garden, and WRAP hope to sell over 20,000 home compost bins across the three areas.

Anyone who would like to order a bin can either fill in and return the postcard or telephone the WRAP order line on 0845 077 0756. All home composting bins come with a FREE kitchen caddy and a roll of compostable liners made from GM-free cornstarch.

The two types of compost bin available to purchase are as follows:

Compostabin - 226 litre capacity, made from recycled plastic, requires no assembly, black colour and costs £3.

Milko - easy to assemble, 300 litre capacity, made from 100% post
consumer recycled plastic, hinged lid, black colour and costs £5.

WRAP is funding all costs associated with this campaign including the costs of
providing the home compost bins, and this should result in a small saving to the Council’s Waste Management Section.

April 2005