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North East chosen to launch ground-breaking “compost revolution”

The North East gets to celebrate yet another win this week! Today it’s all about how our region has been chosen to launch a ground-breaking “compost revolution” and lead the way in better handling organic waste in the UK.

In line with their call for a radical change, Enrich the Earth, a coalition of organisations including the National Trust, RHS and Horticultural Trade Association, has selected the region to trial an innovative “compost revolution”.

The North East was selected for this campaign following an open application process, with the winning partnership bid put forward by the North-East England Climate Coalition (Chris Zarraga, Schools North East Director, is a board member); Net Zero North East; the North East Recycling Forum; Durham County Council; and Northumberland County Council.

Let’s show the rest of the country what’s possible!

An honour to be at the forefront of this change

Green and food waste has the potential to be transformed into a valuable resource, which is what the compost revolution will aim to promote. As a result of this nifty initiative, the region and beyond will be able to enjoy many benefits, including reduced waste and better soil – both of which will help us fight climate change and protect nature.

The movement has three key aims:

1) To encourage more home composting

2) To make the most use of green and food waste by reducing contamination

3) To create a new commercial compost which is better for the environment by using more green waste

We truly have the opportunity to help make history here! The Enrich the Earth collaboration is the first of its kind and brings together over 20 diverse organisations, from NGOs and trade associations to horticulturalists and retailers.

Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “What an incredibly clever solution to such a major problem – and very timely, too. As a board member of NEECO, I’m even more thrilled that this opportunity has been given to our region.

“It’s fantastic that the North East has been selected to lead the way here, and it’s something that we can encourage our region’s children to get involved in early on. By teaching them the importance of composting – as well as best practices in doing so – we’ll be helping them build positive habits that they can take into adulthood.”

Independently funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the movement has set out a number of ambitions.

Home composting

Only 33 per cent of UK households currently compost, new research from Censuswide shows. Enrich the Earth aims to increase this to 50 per cent; if successful, this could prevent 2,500 rubbish trucks of waste needing to be processed each year in the North East.

Now that’s an idea we cannot and should not throw away!

Composting more would mean more nutrient-rich soil in our gardens, less waste in our bins and less need to buy peat-free compost. This is a great way to save households money, as well as free up crucial resources (such as wood fibre, coir, and bark) for the horticulture industry. 

This will help them move away from using peat more quickly.

New environmental innovator Sizzle is responsible for bringing together Enrich the Earth.  Pam Jose from Sizzle said: “Composting is an immediate step households can take to reduce waste, fight climate change and enrich our soil, helping our plants thrive and reducing the need for expensive chemical-based fertilisers. 

“We’re inviting members of the public and organisations like community growing groups, universities, garden centres and restaurants across the North East to get on board and start composting as soon as possible. 

“Wormeries are a great way to produce fantastic compost from kitchen scraps, so we’re hoping to boost their use amongst households and businesses too.”

Reducing contamination

Plastics and other non-compostable items (such as styrofoam and bioplastic)  that often find their way into our green and food waste bins are costly to remove and reduce the potential for the materials to be used for growing.

Understandably then, Enrich the Earth is calling for all households throughout the region to play their part by ensuring that only organic materials go into their garden and food waste. This could be your new mission, should you choose to accept it. 

Robert Maxwell, from Joint Stocks Compost Site in Durham, said: “Dog toys, garden chairs and astroturf and plant labels are just some of the items regularly found in garden waste collections which cause huge problems when we process it.

“Garden waste doesn’t apply to any item found in the garden. It means plants, leaves, hedge trimmings, grass clippings – organic items that can be rotted down to make a fantastic compost. With the public’s help to reduce contamination, we can really show the rest of the country how to do it.”

Making these changes couldn’t come at a better time, either. Industry data shows that, in 2021, almost 7 per cent of materials collected for composting on a national level was contaminated – that’s around 350,000 tonnes and cost £50 million to dispose of via landfill.

We must put an end to this kind of outcome, and the North East can pave the way.

Northumberland County Council is currently experimenting with new ways to improve the quality of food waste collected; the lessons from this will be shared with Local Authorities in the North East and across the UK.

Creating a new commercial compost

Enrich the Earth will join forces with Durham County Council to turn household garden waste into compost, which will be used in a range of planting trials and laboratory tests over the next 18 months across the region.

The goal is to create a consistent, quality product that horticulturalists, commercial growers, and households can benefit from.  It doesn’t stop there, either. The compost is also being used by Durham County Council across its parks and gardens, demonstrating a true circular economy.

This new regional source of compost from green waste could provide a sustainable replacement to peat, and provides farmers and community-growing projects with a quality and locally-available product for growing food.

Ben Allison, a farmer in Durham, has been using compost from his local authority composting facility for years. He said: “The quality of the compost from our local council has really improved over recent years and I successfully use it to grow many arable crops. 

“I think all farms should use local green compost as it’s not only helping fight climate change, but it also reduces the need for synthetic fertilisers which have become very expensive as a result of the war in the Ukraine. 

“As a farmer growing crops, my soil is my bank account, using green compost helps to guarantee a plentiful harvest.”

What does this mean for the North East?

Enrich the Earth will assist people in:

• Choosing the right growing media for their aims
• Give them the tools to compost green and food waste in the home bette
• Reduce contamination
• Enabling local authorities and private sector green waste composters to produce peat-free compost products that are suitable for home and commercial growers. 

We’re off to a flying start already! Organisations across the North East have already confirmed dedicating time and resources to this project, including commercial growers, local farmers, major multiples, universities and academics.

Organisations interested in getting involved can visit www.enrichtheearth.co.uk

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