Composting is one of the best ways to create nutrient-rich fertiliser, and recycle organic waste which would otherwise head for landfill. Of course, it’s difficult to have a comprehensive composting operation in a busy city, which is why Tabán is creating a new community-wide initiative.
Eggshells, coffee grounds, old vegetables and decomposing fruit pieces are all thrown on the pile at the community composting point, located in District XI.
Composting, for those not in the know, is the natural decomposition of accumulated organic waste, with worms, tiny organisms, fungi, bacteria and insects all helping in the creation of compost, which is used for fertiliser and potting soil. In a village, it’s easy to throw natural garbage into a small dump in the yard of the house, and many green-conscious households are doing this. In the city, residents may have a small compost pile on their balcony or in the courtyard. Of course, not everything can go on the pile – meat, dairy products or chemically treated foodstuffs should not be included.
Here
in Budapest, the Zöld Tabánért csoport ('Group for a Green Taban'),
together with FŐKERT, have built a community composting site in Tabán, next to the tennis courts. (Regular readers of the site might remember that FŐKERT recently also installed a series of bee hotels.)
Most of the green waste which comes in is
generated by the nearby Tabán area, but anyone is free to use it to dispose of
their own household green waste. A full list of what can be included is posted
on the containers, as well as on the Hummus Association Website.
