Eden's food waste composter
At Eden we turn kitchen scraps and leftovers from our cafes into compost for our world-famous gardens.
A huge on-site composter, installed in 2005, converts food waste created here into a nitrogen-rich soil enhancement that our gardeners use to feed their impressive collection of plants.
A valuable by-product
During the 80-day composting process the contents reach more than 60 degrees C. What comes out is a potent material that’s either mixed with soil or used as a mulch. 'Using compost made from waste to grow new plants is a great illustration of the Eden philosophy and, from a horticulture perspective, we’re really pleased with the results we’ve seen,' says Eden Project horticulturist Darren Topps.
Before Eden opened in 2001, our gardening team created 83,000 tonnes of soil, by mixing waste from the former china clay pit with green compost, to turn the site into a landscape capable of sustaining plants from all over the world.
Why Eden composts
Maxine Fuller, Waste Operations Manager at Eden, says: 'The whole composting process is a great educational tool for visitors, because they see the journey of their food from the plate through to the plant. It starts as they sort waste from their trays into different containers, and ends as they pass the composting plant which has been deliberately sited near one of the public car parks. It’s Eden’s version of alchemy.'
We have adopted a Waste Neutral philosophy, aiming to buy in the same weight of recycled materials as we send for recycling or disposal. The idea is to help boost the market for recycled goods by adding one vital element on to the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ motto; reinvest.
