Compost Awareness Week is kicking off this Sunday (May 4) with the message: 'green up your garden, green up your kitchen and green up your community."

Celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock is supporting this year's Composting Awareness Week

Organised by The Composting Association (CA) and WRAP, the week aims to increase awareness of compost in the wider community and highlight its many benefits and applications - particularly for use in the garden.

Acting CA chief executive Jeremy Jacobs said: "Each year Compost Awareness Week goes from strength to strength and with ‘green' issues so high on the political and consumer agenda, we expect the 2008 event to generate more interest than ever.

He added: "This year the ‘Green up your Garden', theme for CAW, will be focusing on promoting compost's tremendous potential to improve soil fertility and soil structure, within local communities. We also need to promote the benefits of this versatile renewable material when used as an alternative to peat - a finite resource - in growing media."

This year compost producers have been encouraged to hold open days for the public, give away free compost to householders, donating compost to community projects and do all they can to promote compost.

The Composting Association will be involved throughout Compost Awareness Week by supporting its members and attending an event at CA member and organic waste processor, Agrivert.

In conjunction with Cherwell District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, Agrivert will be distributing compost to the general public at locations across Oxfordshire as part of the drive to encourage householders to make and use renewable composts.

Various events have been planned nationwide and celebrity gardeners, Charlie Dimmock and Matt James, are getting involved offering tips on using peat-free compost containing recycled materials.

Ms Dimmock said: "If you home compost you could cut down the contents of your household bin by nearly a third and if you choose to use peat-free compost s containing recycling material s like grass cuttings and prunings, you'll be helping to keep waste out of landfill where it rots down to potentially create harmful greenhouse gases.

She added: "As both deliver great results in your garden it is a win/win all round."

Kiosks

Compost can be used as an alternative to peat in growing media

B&Q, Tesco, Wyevale, Dobbies and the Garden & Leisure group, have also signed up to support the campaign's Know Your Compost kiosks across their stores, and are providing a range of offers on some of their peat-free composts to encourage customers to try the products. The Compost Kiosks have been created by WRAP for use as in store information points through the campaign as well as give out free compost samples.

Last years event brought some unexpected bonuses for compost producers. Grant Keenan, of Keenan Recycling, said that hosting an open day last year helped him to win public support for plans to extend his business to include food as well as garden waste. He said some visitors, who had opposed the planning application, were so impressed by what they saw and heard during the open day that they apologised for objecting and admitted they had not really understood what the business involved.

He said: "Holding these open days has really helped us to improve relationships with our neighbours. By giving people the chance to visit the site and find out more about what we do, we've managed to iron out concerns and really get people on side."

Mr Jacobs said: "Compost Awareness Week gives compost producers a chance to generate some really positive PR for themselves. By organising events or activities, they can make great strides in winning public support and understanding for their business and the industry as a whole."