Free Compost Reward For Recycling In Ards

Next week recyclers in Ards will be rewarded with a free bag of compost, courtesy of Ards Borough Council! Anyone who brings material for recycling to one of the Council’s seven recycling centres will receive a bag of compost (while stocks last) as part of Compost Awareness Week which this year runs from 5-11 May.  The week-long initiative promotes the benefits of composting food and garden waste, whether through brown bins, home composters or at recycling centres, and highlights the negative impact of throwing the material away when it will end up in a landfill site, where the material rots, creating methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  Emphasising the importance of making the most of the recycling facilities available, Mayor of Ards, Councillor Stephen McIlveen, said: “Recycling food and garden waste is simple with the dedicated brown bin service, it’s good for the environment because it reduces the waste needlessly going to landfill and it’s also economical because we pay a high price for waste which is landfilled rather than recycled. And, of course, the end product is a rich compost which can be re-used”. Working in partnership with Creative Gardens, the arc21 Education bus, along with staff from both Ards and North Down Borough Councils, will also be at Creative Gardens, Donaghadee, next week (Wednesday 7 May) offering information and advice on composting and recycling generally, giving away free seeds and offering visitors the opportunity to enter a draw to win a £50 voucher to spend at a Creative Garden centre. During Compost Week, Creative Gardens will be giving away a free packet of Westland ‘Make Your Own’ Compost (normally £5.99) with every 220litre Ecomax Compost Bin purchased.  The Ecomax Compost Bin will be on sale at £39.95 (normally £42.95).  Westland Make Your Own Compost is a natural blend of organic nitrogen and bacteria used to accelerate the composting process. A limited stock of compost will be given on a first-come, first-served basis and will be available at the recycling centres in Newtownards (North Road), Comber (Ballygowan Road), Donaghadee (Railway Street), Millisle (Moss Road), Ballygowan (Moss Road), Kircubbin (Parsonage Road) and Portaferry (Coach Road) from Tuesday 6 May to Saturday 10 May. Staff will be at Creative Gardens, Donaghadee, on Wednesday 6 May from 10.00-3.30pm. .