The number of Irish householders composting their domestic waste has reached unprecedented levels, according to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.
An IPCC survey found that four out of every five gardeners surveyed at the recent Garden Heaven show in Dublin compost their organic kitchen and garden waste. The survey revealed that the "majority of people" were now using compost bins bought from their local authorities to recycle waste.
Making the effort to cut down on waste in dustbins is just as important for wildlife as turning the lawn into a flowery meadow, said the IPCC's conservation officer, Ms Noreen McLoughlin. An "enormous amount of material from each household" goes into landfill sites, which were once habitats for birds and other wild creatures, she said.
The survey was conducted as part of the IPCC's peat-free garden campaign. Ms McLoughlin said the results were encouraging because they indicated people were becoming more conscious of the waste they generate. "This seems to be especially true of gardeners."
The 21 per cent of gardeners surveyed who were not composting had "never thought about it". But the recent Government announcement that households would have to pay by weight for the amount of waste thrown out should encourage more composting.
A quarter of all waste is organic and could be composted, said Ms McLoughlin. The IPCC hopes the increasing number of people composting organic waste will mean a significant reduction in the use of moss peat in gardens.
"Home-made compost is a far superior gardening product to peat - and it's free. Garden compost improves the ability of the soil to retain water. It can be used as mulch to cut down on weeding and can be added to the soil to improve structure."
Compost bins can be bought at a subsidised rate from local authorities.