The main focus of the Waste Working Group has been Community Composting.
Composting
Exeter is one of the districts in Devon where organic household waste is not collected (aside from gardening waste). Not all households who would like to compost their vegetable peelings have the space or the expertise to do so. It pains me every time I add masses of organic matter to my bins, just because my yard is too small for composting – I’d rather reserve the space for growing plants.
This is where community composting can make all the difference, by providing a (very) local managed scheme where organic waste can be composted effectively. The benefits are many: you bring your waste and receive compost that helps you grow food (for inspiration see Harvest) , you help reduce the amount of waste that the Council has to collect and dispose of in landfill, and you are part of a local community group that can do all sorts of things.
Whilst it takes some initial effort to set up a community composting scheme, there is support for it in Exeter and Devon. Nicky Scott, for a start, is an (International) authority on the matter and knows which strings to pull; the City Council seems to be in favour – but it would be much easier if we could work on more than one or two schemes in Exeter.
