Master Composters

Suffolk Master Composters

Calling all gardeners, allotment holders or anyone with 'green fingers' or a 'green mind'!

Do you bore your better half with tales of soil and seed-sowing? Do you nag the neighbours about their poor recycling habits. If this is you and you have a bit of time on your hands - then you might like to join a group of like-minded individuals that make up Suffolk Master Composters.

What are Master Composters?

Master Composters are community volunteers who in return for training and support, act as composting ambassadors in their local neighbourhood. MCs help raise awareness amongst the wider public of the benefits of composting, to encourage more people to compost at home and to support those who already participate in home composting to ensure that they are successful in their efforts. The aim is to help the public succesfully produce their own soil improvers, which will in turn help reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill.

It is recognised that people’s attitudes and behaviour can be strongly influenced by other people around them, such as family, friends, neighbours or work colleagues and it is for this reason that Master Composter volunteers can provide a unique role in educating the public.

Master Composter is a “qualification”, which in order to attain the volunteer needs to complete a series of training sessions in home composting and related environmental issues. In return for the training, an ongoing comprehensive support package and free membership of Garden Organic volunteers are expected to contribute a minimum of 30 hours towards promoting and supporting composting in their local community. Once Master Composters have completed their qualification, the local authority are then able to call upon this pool of talent to support home composting schemes by using them to educate and advise other members of the community. All Master Composters are required to undertake a CRB disclosure when joining the scheme.

Master Composters: What do they do?

• Help develop an educational programme to aid local residents to compost successfully.
• Provide advice on home composting to individual householders.
• Visit schools in their community to talk about composting and recycling and/or to support the school’s composting/gardening/environment activities.
• Promote the benefits of composting through the local media and parish magazines.
• Promote the sale locally of composts made from household green waste.
• Give talks to community, residents and allotment groups about the benefits of composting.
• Set up displays to encourage home composting at garden centres, village fetes and other community events.
• Help promote future sales of subsidised compost bins. 
• Help develop community composting schemes.
• Helping at public ‘open days’ at demonstration composting sites.

Master Composters Training

Several Suffolk Master Composter Foundation Training sessions have taken place in the past 18 months with training provided by staff from Garden Organic and Suffolk County Council. The next round of Master Composter Foundation training will take place on Friday 17th & Sat 18th September 2010 at Lackford Lakes Nature Reserve. We are particularly keen to recruit volunteers from the west of the county and priority will be given to potential volunteers from this area.

Course content over the 2 days covers the following areas:

• The role and potential of home composting in waste minimisation
• The role of Master Composters in waste minimisation and home composting
• The benefits of home composting: to the environment and the householder 
• An in-depth look at materials that can and cannot go into a compost bin
• The composting process: what you need to do to ensure it works
• Creatures you might find in a compost bin 
• Types of compost bin and how to construct them
• How to use compost 
• Methods and activities to promote home composting

The training includes a site visit to a waste disposal or recycling site and a composting facility.

If you are interested in becoming a Suffolk Master Composter yourself and are available for the 2 day foundation training please contact Craig Renton, on 01473 264795 or 07736 950634; by e-mail, or write to:

Waste Awareness Campaigns Officer Suffolk County Council Endeavour House 8 Russell Road Ipswich IP1 2BX

The deadline for expressions of interest from potential volunteers for this course is Tuesday 7th Sept.

If you, or a group/organisation you are involved with, would like some advice from a Suffolk Master Composter please get in touch via the contacts above.