Case Study

Calderdale Council Parks and Streetscene TeamEnjoying heaps of praise for compost scheme

A forward-thinking scheme in Calderdale has transformed around 2,500 tonnes of fallen leaves into compost to help local communities bloom.Calderdale Council’s Parks and Streetscene team, with funding from Recycling Action Yorkshire (RAY), launched the initiative to put leaves collected from roads around the borough to good use.

The scheme has generated a huge ground-swell of support – with schools, businesses and local households all getting involved. The compost has proved so popular, that locals have dubbed it ‘Calderdale Black Gold’.

The leaf waste is processed on a concrete pad, then screened to remove large items of debris and litter, mixed with woodchip, and stacked in windrow piles. After just six weeks, the compost is ready.

RAY’s funding allowed the Calderdale team to experiment with different combinations of materials, in order to come up with the ideal compost formula.

The final product has been used extensively in local parks, such as Wellholme Park in Brighouse, famous for its spectacular floral bedding displays. The compost’s water retaining properties and nutrient boost have proved to be particularly valuable.

Schools, Friends of the park and corporate groups have used the compost to plant wild flowers in natural meadows, and businesses have also participated, by spreading the compost in local parks during National Volunteers Week.

To mark National Compost Awareness Week, the Council team organised a ‘big heap’ day, to give local residents the chance to stock up with free compost. Volunteers were overwhelmed with the response. More than 700 cars turned up to the collection point, causing gridlock along local roads.

Mark Dempsey, support services manager for the Council’s Parks and Streetscene Section said: “This project has gone from strength to strength. We started out with very little experience, but through trial and error, we have come up with a great product that has a wide range of uses.

“It’s not just our local parks that are benefiting from this scheme. Schools have been very interested, and the children have loved handling the compost, and getting dirty. The response from local households has also been nothing short of phenomenal.”

He added: “The funding from RAY has certainly provided extra impetus to the project, helping us to really get it off the ground. The support has been invaluable.”

Many local authorities in the region have visited Calderdale to see this inspirational project for themselves. In the meantime, Mark and his team are continuing to spread the compost creed to an ever wider audience.

BENEFITS

• Gives a new life to waste material that would otherwise end up in landfill

• Calderdale Council has saved in excess of £40,000 in waste disposal costs

• Transformed more than 2,500 tonnes of leaves into a high performance soil conditioner

• Schools, businesses and local households now use the compost, which has helped to reinforce the recycling message

• The scheme has set an inspiring example for other local authorities to follow.

Spreading ‘Calderdale Black Gold’ in a Halifax park.

For more information contact:Matt HillProject manager - organics

matt.hill@recyclingaction-yorkshire.org.uk0113 237 8414

www.recyclingaction-yorkshire.org.uk