Compost Club, a social enterprise founded and run by Michael Kennard, collects members\u2019 food waste every three weeks, and returns nutrient-rich compost containing living micro-organisms for their gardens in spring. <\/p>

Waste is a human idea, and it\u2019s a terrible idea. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
His concept for a community composting scheme came about when Michael found that he was unable to produce enough compost for his market garden, in Lewes, East Sussex, on his own. After trying out all of the commercially available organic composts to make up the deficit, he was at a loss. Intuitively, he felt that the product he was buying wasn\u2019t what he needed. He started learning about the soil food web and bought himself a microscope. \u201cI found that although commercial compost is made of organic matter, it\u2019s basically sterile \u2013 there\u2019s nothing living in there. That\u2019s the case across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Scarlet Spinks<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
He realised that to get the quality he was after, he would have to start making his own compost \u2013 although, as he points out, \u201cI don\u2019t actually make it. I just create the conditions that allow the micro-organisms to do their work.\u201d Friends and neighbours were keen to donate their waste \u2013 the local council in Brighton & Hove doesn\u2019t offer a food-waste collection service, so there were a lot of people who were eager to find a sustainable way of disposing of their waste. Before he knew it, Michael was being offered more food waste than he needed. Not wanting to turn it down, the idea for Compost Club was born.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t actually make compost. I just create the conditions that allow the micro-organisms to do their work. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Club members pay a monthly subscription to have their food waste collected every three weeks in Michael\u2019s electric van. They can opt to have either one or three buckets of compost returned to them in the spring (\u00a312 or \u00a316 a month, respectively) or they can choose to donate their share to community growing projects, which works well for those without a garden<\/a> or any houseplants<\/a>. A little goes a long way too \u2013 two and-a-half litres is enough to treat six square metres of growing space.<\/p>\n
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Currently, Michael collects food waste from 180 homes. Excess compost is up for sale to members of the public and can be delivered with plastic-free shipping across the UK.<\/p>\n
He also hopes to expand \u2013 his work energises him and has fostered a sense of what he calls \u201cjoyful service\u201d. He\u2019s particularly keen to spend more time running workshops to spread the Compost Club ethos of healthy soil, healthy plants, healthy people. \u201cBy empowering individuals and communities to make compost for themselves, I can have a bigger reach,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
USEFUL INFORMATION\nTo find out more about Compost Club or to purchase its compost, visit compostclub.online<\/a>, or follow on Instagram @compost.club<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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