Brown bin
Coronavirus: Waste
Brown bin (garden waste) collections are suspended until further notice. The Council has published home composting advice to assist residents.
Residents should continue to present their blue and grey bins on alternate weeks on their usual collection day.
To help protect our bin crews and maintain waste collection services here in East Staffordshire, please follow the guidance issued by Government if you are self-isolating or displaying symptoms of coronavirus.
Home Composting Advice
The Council has published home composting advice below to assist residents seeking ways in which to get rid of their garden waste.
Home composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden and it is easy to make and use. It is also the ideal way to waste less, recycle more and save money too. Simply putting most kitchen and garden waste into a compost bin will produce a free supply of rich brown compost, keeping the garden blooming year after year.
Ideally site your compost bin in a reasonably sunny spot on bare soil. The reason you should site your bin on soil is that it makes it easy for beneficial microbes and insects to gain access to the material and also allows for better aeration and drainage, both important to successful composting. Although the compost bin can also be sited on other surfaces.
For home composting to be successful you need the get the right mix of material which is classed as 50% greens and 50% browns. Greens such as cut flowers and grass mowings are quick to rot and provide nitrogen and moisture to the compost and browns that are slower to rot such as cardboard and evergreen prunings provide carbon and fibre to the compost and allows air pockets to form to help with the composting process. A full list of the types of items that can be placed into the home composting bin can be found at www.recyclenow.com/reduce-waste/composting
It takes between nine and twelve months for your compost to become ready for use, so now all you need to do is wait and let nature do the work.
For residents that have never tried home composting before and would like to give it a go, reduced price home composting bins can be purchased through the Countywide home composting scheme and details for this can be found at www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/bins-rubbish-recycling/composting
For residents that do not have a home composting bin, garden waste can be stored in the corner of your garden.