National Stop Food Waste Week 2026

SDCC is delighted to participate in National Food Waste Recycling Week 2026 and Ballyroan Boys National School kick started the week by installing a new wormery for their school with Craig Benton through the Composting For Schools Programme. Worms are nature's best composters, and prior to setting up the wormery, students learned about the importance of worms, their lifecycle and diet and how they play a vital role in the breaking down food and garden waste. The wormery is now a valuable asset to the school, allowing the students to use their food waste to produce valuable compost for their school garden, which is currently growing peas and strawberries. 

🏆Why A Wormery Is Beneficial

♻️Waste Reduction: Recycles up to 50% of your daily household food waste, preventing it going to landfill and the release of harmful greenhouse gases

🐛Highly Efficient: Wormeries convert kitchen waste into finished compost in just 3 months

🏠Perfect for Compact Spaces: Stacked modular tray wormeries take up very little room and can be stored in a garage, utility room or even on a balcony

🌱Nutrient Goldmine and Boosted Plant Health: Composting worms rapidly digest your food scraps, creating worm castings (excellent solid fertilizer known as "black gold") and worm tea (a potent liquid plant food)

🌸No Odour: When managed properly, wormeries are clean and smell-free

✅ What to Put In (Green Waste & Bedding)

🍎 Fruit & Vegetables: Peels, cores, rinds, and spoiled produce

☕ Brewing Scraps: Coffee grounds, paper filters and biodegradable tea bags

🥚 Eggshells: Crushed shells add necessary grit for worm digestion and balance the pH

🗞️ Paper Products: Shredded confidential documents, non-glossy cardboard, paper packaging and toilet roll tubes

🍂 Garden Clippings: Dead leaves and a small amounts of lawn grass

❌ What to Keep Out

🥩 Meat & Fish: Raw or cooked meats and fish attract vermin and create foul odours

🧀 Dairy: Cheese, cream and butter rot quickly and cause pests

🛢️ Oils & Grease: Fats, oil and grease can block the worms' breathing pores and ruin the moist environment

🌶️ High Acid/Spice: Large amounts of citrus, onions, chillies or heavily salted foods can make the bin environment too acidic for the worms