grEEN waste bins will be available at a bargain price, as well as free compost and advice from environmental experts, to people in West Suffolk during National Compost Awareness Week 2013.

From next Monday to the following Tuesday, May 14, the Suffolk Waste Partnership will highlight the environmental and financial benefits of making and using your own compost.

To mark the week and thank people for supporting green waste recycling services, free compost will be available while stocks last at East Town Park, Haverhill, from 10am to 4pm.

Peter Stevens, chair of the Suffolk Waste Partnership, encouraged people from Suffolk to bring along a bag and get shovelling.

He added: “Home composting is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to deal with the compostable material that makes up 30% of an average household’s waste, as it requires no transport or processing and is an environmentally-friendly alternative to peat-based compost.

“Compost Awareness Week is our chance to help people understand the benefits of compost, whether it is made at home or through the council’s green waste recycling services.”

When sent to landfill, organic waste breaks down without oxygen, producing methane which contributes to global warming. But an average household in West Suffolk could divert 150kg of this organic material a year from landfill by home composting.

Most garden waste and some uncooked food waste can be composted in a basic compost bin or heap and these are available for under £17 through the scheme. Other offers are available.