Composting for the Future is a way for us to spark Glasgow’s communities’ involvement in composting and raising awareness of the importance of healthy soils for a healthy climate. Led by the Food and Climate Action project team, we want to work with communities to identify what needs to change with our city’s current food-waste recycling system, explore alternative models to make composting easier and more effective and support community groups to set these up.
We'll be delivering events across the city as well as sharing and creating materials on the ways and whys of composting. To keep up to date with our events, follow us on Eventbrite and for everything else you can either sign-up to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Why Composting?
Read about why we've decided to focus on compost as part of the Food and Climate Action project in this blog post, but 1 of our Community Activators, Jenny McGillivray
No More Food to Landfill
We commissioned Ben Wray, an independent researcher and journalist, to write a report on Glasgow's food waste management.
We found that Glasgow households organics recycling is just 3.2%, the lowest of any local authority in Scotland. Despite this not-so-great outlook, Glasgow City Council has made some positive moves. For example, the bin-hubs pilot throughout the city have shown that it is possible to get quality food waste collection from flats in Glasgow!
Read on for more facts, stats and recommendations.
The full campaign pack, including the report itself, an A4 poster, A5 flyer and social media assets are available to download.
Alternative Composting Models
In 2023, we commissioned Propagate to write a report on Alternative Composting Models so we can better understand the possible options for community and larger-scale composting in Glasgow. We’re very pleased to be able to share this with you now.
This report is intended as a helpful tool not only for those considering applying to our Community Composting Peer-Budgeting opportunity but also for keen composters who may not want, feel ready or need to apply for our peer-budgeting scheme.
Our mission: get Glasgow composting!
Composting Connecions
As part of Composting for the Future, we have been supporting a new community network of composters called Composting Connections as part of our Composting for the Future focus.
We’ve created a new Google Group to widen this out to community. The idea of the network was always that it would be to support skills exchange and knowledge transfer between composters in Glasgow, off the back of our activity, but not as a core piece of our activity. As such, the group will be whatever the members make it!
You can find out more about Composting Connections and join the group via the newsletter sent out to our Composting tag on Mailchimp. You can join the group by going to www.groups.google.com and searching ‘Composting Connections’.
PEER-BUDGETING FOR COMMUNITY COMPOSTING
We've awarded a total of £30k to community groups across Glasgow to establish and improve community composting models.
In Round 1, we awarded £3k each to FROGGS, Ally Park Food Forest, St. Paul's Youth Forum, Gathering Ground and SALTIRE. Find out who they are and what they're ideas were.
In round 2, which is currently ongoing, we awarded £3k each to Cranahill Development Trust, Galgael, The Children's Wood and Meadow, Glasgow Seed Library and Art in the Gart. Take a look to see what they'll be up to.
Margaret from Friends of Garnethill Green Spaces (FROGGS), one of the funded groups from Round 1, said
"It's a very exciting project, still just at the beginning, but it's moving, reviving, tidying up and expanding our composting capacities. It's especially nice that it has attracted new people - with the skills to build big Joraforms!
Further Funding for Composting
We've compiled a database of funds that could be used for composting activities. Access it at the public Google sheet.
Composting for the Future is part of our Food and Climate Action project, delivered in partnership with Glasgow Community Food Network, Urban Roots, Glasgow Eco Trust, St. Paul’s Youth Forum, Central and West Integration Network and The Space. It is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
