Green-fingered schools and community groups across Ipswich are being offered a chance to get their hands on some free compost by entering a brand-new competition - Dig Deep and Grow with DiGBY!
Launched as part of Compost Awareness Week (7 to 14 May 2023), the competition aims to encourage more people to compost and teach everyone how to make the most out of their brown bins.
Competition entrants could win five bags of compost produced from the county’s brown bin waste. This is created at Material Change which operates a green waste recycling facility close to Ipswich.
Compost prizes will be given to local schools and groups who show how they will use the compost in the most fun and creative ways.
To be in with a chance of winning the free compost, entrants must send in a short one-to-two-minute video demonstrating the benefits of composting and how they put compost put to good use.
The competition will run quarterly over the next year so there are four opportunities for schools and community groups to enter. Winners will receive a visit from recycling mascot DiGBY the octopus to present compost prizes.
In the last year, Ipswich residents have sent 7,908 tonnes of garden waste to be composted at a local composting plant near Ipswich. Garden waste that makes the best compost includes grass cuttings, tree and shrub prunings, flowers or leaves that are turned into a nutrient rich Soil Improver.
Councillor Phil Smart, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change, says:
“We know that schools and community groups are becoming increasingly active in growing their own fruit, vegetables, and plants, so we’re looking forward to seeing their entries to find out how they could make use of the compost on offer in creative ways.
We hope that through this competition we can highlight the benefits of brown bin compost, to ensure that brown bins in Ipswich are used correctly to produce quality compost from our garden waste for reuse.”
To enter, send your videos to: LoveYourStreet@ipswich.gov.uk
The closing date for the first of four quarterly competitions is 5pm on Friday 23 June 2023.
Find out more about the competition including FAQs.
Learn more about what you can and can’t place in your brown bin.
