Making your own compost rather than buying it, is beneficial, as it's great for the garden and it's free.

If you would like to try your hand at home composting, Central Bedfordshire Council offer subsidised compost bins for as little as £9.

You can order online at www.cbc.getcomposting.com or by calling 0844 571 4444 and quote CBC01P

Ideally you should put it onto a soil base so that worms, insects and microbes can transfer between both, as well as air and moisture. A good mix of worms is a healthy sign in a composter. If a soil base is not available your composter can be placed onto a concrete base - ideally you would add a thin layer of soil to get it started and find some worms from soil. Try and position it so that it gets some shade in the summer months as this will prevent it drying out. 

You need a combination of browns (high nitrogen) and greens (high carbon).

• Browns are bits of cardboard, scrunched up paper, dried leaves, wood prunings etc, which create air pockets.
• Greens are uncooked fruit and vegetable peelings, garden waste (grass cuttings, green leaves, and soft prunings etc) as well as tea bags and coffee grounds.

• Cooked food
• Fish and meat bones
• Perennial weeds
• Diseased plants
• Cat and dog faeces

You should have compostable mixture at the bottom of your bin after 6-12 months, depending on the quality of the mixture in your compost bin.

No, you can make a composter out of any material that you have. A few old pallets are very good for making a composter, ideally you need to be able to keep the rain out. You can also create compost by simply piling material together at the bottom of your garden. It will break down eventually.