Surrey residents are being encouraged to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and save themselves money, by producing free compost for their gardens.

Out of a total 536,000 tonnes of household waste currently produced in Surrey each year, it's estimated that around a third could be composted which would save the county an estimated £8.7m in reduced landfill and green waste disposal costs each year.

A large part of this saving could be achieved by home composting. However, findings from a recent waste prevention survey*, carried out in the county, showed that just over half of all residents who have a garden don't compost at home, potentially unaware of the benefits home composting can bring to both their purse and the environment.

To coincide with Compost Awareness Week, between May 2 and May 8, the Surrey Waste Partnership, made up of Surrey County Council and the 11 district and borough councils, is running a county-wide scheme, offering home composting bins at reduced prices – from £14.00 (RRP £39.00), to encourage residents to start composting.

Surrey Waste Partnership spokesperson Dr Lynne Hack is passionate about encouraging people to get composting.

She said: "Composting at home is the most environmentally friendly way to deal with compostable items of household waste because it involves no travel or processing and produces peat-free compost.”

The sorts of items that can be composted include everyday kitchen waste such as tea bags, egg boxes and vegetable peelings, and garden waste such as grass cuttings, twigs and wood chippings.

Residents who want to buy a bin or dig up more advice on how to turn their table scraps and garden waste into compost, can visit our home composting page or phone 0844 571 4444.