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Go compost crazy for Food Waste Action Week – free compost and a ‘hot’ composter up for grabs

To mark Food Waste Action Week 2024, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are giving away free compost and running a competition to win a ‘hot’ composter worth over £130!

Compost giveaways take place:

  • For Vale residents – Saturday 16 March: 9am – 11am at White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre (OX14 3PJ)
  • For South Oxfordshire residents – Sunday 17 March: 9am – 11am at the former council office on Benson Lane, Crowmarsh (OX10 8ED).

The councils’ friendly Waste and Recycling team will be on-site to answer your composting questions and share tips.

This offer is available while supplies last. You can fill up to 3 bags per household, just remember to bring your own bags and spade!

Win a hot composter! 

This Food Waste Action Week, you could be in with the chance of winning a hot composter worth over £130!

A hot composter offers the most efficient method of composting as it allows air at a higher temperature around the waste than traditional composters and it produces a nutrient-rich compost, perfect for your plants and soil, in as little as 90 days!

To enter – from 14 to 24 March find a ‘hot’ composter competition post on the councils’ official Facebook or Instagram pages and write in the comments what actions you are taking to reduce your food waste.

The competition is open to residents of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse only.  For terms and conditions see southandvale.gov.uk/HotComposterT&C

Cllr Sue Cooper, Cabinet Member for Environment at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Together, by composting and reducing our food waste, we can reduce the environmental impact of food waste and excess packaging and create a more sustainable future.  Make sure you come along to a compost giveaway and enter the competition to win a ‘hot’ composter!”

Cllr Mark Coleman, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “Composting is a simple yet effective way to save money, reduce your food waste and nurture your garden.  This Food Waste Action Week is a great time to start – just grab some free compost at our giveaway and enter our competition!”

Notes for editors:

4.7 million tonnes of edible food is thrown away each year by UK households. Shockingly, 25% of this wasted food is as a result of people cooking, preparing or serving too much – this costs UK households £4.9 billion each year. (information from WRAP).

Food Waste Action Week takes place from 18 to 24 March.  This year the national campaign is encouraging people to ‘Choose What You’ll Use‘, highlighting the benefits of buying loose fruit and vegetables and inspiring people to do this wherever they can. Buying loose reduces food waste – WRAP research has shown that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, we could save 60,000 tonnes of food waste by enabling people to buy closer to their needs.  For more information, visit the WRAP website.