This week is International Composting Week and that seems like as good a time as any to begin turning some of your household waste into something useful for the garden. Why should I compost? A lot of the things we put our waste and recycling bins can be put to good use in a compost bin to produce a soil improver. For example, you can compost cereal boxes, paper bags, tea bags, vegetable peelings and grass cuttings. Composting helps to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and gives you something useful to use on your garden. How do I compost? You can compost in a compost heap or a compost bin - we prefer compost bins as everything is contained in the bin. When composting you should aim for a half and half mix of ‘brown’ and ‘green’ materials. Brown materials are things like cardboard, egg cartons and cereal boxes. Green waste is grass cuttings, fruit and vegetable peelings and teabags. Find out more about what to put in your compost bin. How do I know when my compost is ready to use? How long it will take for your compost to be ready will depend on what you put in there, it usually takes at least several months. Turning your compost every couple of weeks can help to speed up the process. When your compost is ready to use it should look dark, feel crumbly and smell earthy. If there are any large pieces of material that hasn’t composted, remove them before using it on your garden. How do I use my compost? Your compost can be used as a soil improver as it will be rich in the nutrients plants need. You can put it on flowerbeds, around herbs and vegetables and around the base of trees. For more tips on how to use your compost, visit Recycle Now.   We sell a range of compost bins that are made from 100% recycled material and range from 200 litres to 1050 litres.