May 4, 2006. Recycle Western Riverside. Recycle Western Riverside (RWR) is urging people to start composting during Compost Awareness Week to help reduce the amount of rubbish that is sent to landfill sites.

Compost Awareness Week 2006 takes place from 7 to 13 May and aims to inspire everyone to add power to their flowers' by setting up a composter at home.

Every year each person throws away kitchen and garden waste weighing more than 100 bags of sugar. Composting is a more sustainable way to get rid of this waste because it also creates a resource to help make gardens bloom.

A workshop organised by RWR and hosted by London Community Recycling Network took place last weekend to show Lambeth residents how easy it is to set up and run their own composter. Participants got to grips with the do's and don'ts of composting and got their hands dirty by investigating the insides of a compost bin.

Ingrid Munoz-Bromero, from the Clapham Park Estate in Lambeth, was at the workshop. She said: "Like lots of people in London I don't have a garden, so before today I didn't think I could get into composting. But I've now learned that it is possible to do indoor composting, without creating a smelly mess. In fact composting can cut down the smells that come from your dustbin."

Participants also learned that by not sending their kitchen and garden waste to landfill they can help lower the amount of harmful liquids and greenhouses gases that would otherwise be released into the environment.

Sam Jarvis, RWR campaign manager, said: "Remarkably around a third of household rubbish can be composted. Even if you live in a flat, you can use an indoor composter to make great compost for your window box or hanging basket. Composting is fun, easy and can save money, so there are plenty of reasons for people to make this lifestyle change during Compost Awareness Week."

The compost workshop was part of the RWR What Not to Waste' makeover challenge. Fifteen households from the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth, Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are set three fortnightly missions to turn them from wasters' to winners' in just six weeks. The participants must compost their household waste as part of their first challenge Recycle', which began on 22 April. During their first challenge they must also recycle as much of their household rubbish as possible using local recycling services. The second challenge, Reduce', will be unveiled at the end of this week.

RWR compost fact file Anyone can compost even if you don't have a garden. An indoor composter or wormery can work just as well.

Subsidised compost bins are available from your local authority. Call 020 7926 9000 or visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/recycling to find out more.

Site your bin on a level, well-drained spot. Placing it in a sunny place will speed up the composting process.

You can compost vegetable peelings, fruit waste, teabags, garden prunings, grass cuttings, egg shells, cardboard and paper. You can even tip the contents of your hoover bag into a composter.

You should never add meat, cooked vegetables, dairy products, dog poo, cat litter or nappies to your compost.

Good compost needs the right mix of ingredients. You need to create a high carbon to nitrogen ratio, browns to greens. Dried flowers, woody stems and cardboard (browns) are high in carbon; fresh grass cuttings and kitchen waste (greens) are high in nitrogen.

Composting works best if you add a lot of materials at once. Chop large items into small pieces and try to ensure your compost is moist but not wet. Add water if it is too dry, cover and add dry material if it is too wet.

It will take around six months to produce finished compost. It will form dark brown, almost black soil.

Spreading compost onto your flowerbeds improves soil quality by helping to retain moisture and suppressing weeds.

To find out more information on composting visit www.compost.org.uk or www.recyclenow.com