Classic Gardening

This content is syndicated via RSS from the blog: Classic Gardening

Sounds mad but, according to Garden Organic, schools and other organisations that have a compost heap will have to pay £50 for the privilege, if proposals now out for consultation are adopted.

Under the plans, they'd pay the £50 for a licence exemption. The laws are designed to simplify the permit system for waste management and provide exemptions for small-scale businesses and community groups.

Myles Bremner, chief executive of Garden Organic, said: “It is vital that we do not penalise schools and community groups for their efforts to go green. In a world of climate change, diminishing oil and increasing food prices it has never been more important to encourage people to reduce their waste and get growing on a local scale. Composting is a fundamental part of this.”

The problem is that, by requiring any 'waste' activity to register at a cost of £50, whatever its scale, the new laws would mean schools have to pay to compost. The only exception would be composting at home by an individual.

Bremner added: “We currently work with over 5,000 schools across the UK helping them set up organic gardens and compost heaps in their grounds. We’ve also trained over 600 master composters – volunteers who go out and about in their communities getting people to have a go. The government should really be offering incentives to people to compost in their schools and in their communities – not charging them.”

It's not the first time our compost heaps have been threatened.

Of course, what we could do is get city fat cats to compost sterling, savings accounts and pension funds, they having rendered such things as redundant as discarded cabbage leaves. I'd be happy for them to be charged £50 for the privilege.

Read More at Classic Gardening...