Wheelie bins turned wormeries

“Incredible Edible Stromness” project gets off the ground

An enterprising group of gardening enthusiasts from across Orkney have come up with a “wheelie” novel idea for converting damaged bins into wormeries for assisting with home grown food.

The Council’s Waste team were only too happy to get involved, donating around a dozen bins for converting into the compost-generating wormeries.

OIC Roads and Environmental Services Manager, John Wrigley, said: “We were delighted to be able to help with this worthwhile project, not only reusing a number of damaged old bins that were destined for recycling south, but also in terms of watching the growth of a new group and the onward environmental and health benefits this can bring. We look forward to what the future may hold for this enterprising group and how it may develop further.”

The project, which is part of “Incredible Edible Stromness”, will save on bins heading south for recycling.

Fiona Sanderson, who designed the wheelie bin wormery, ran a workshop to create the wormeries at the Stromness Community Garden on Sunday 15 August.

She said: “It was great that Stromness Community Garden saw the value of this project and were happy to be involved. The workshop had 15 attendees, some from as far as Shapinsay, Harray and Evie, converting the old wheelie bins, which had been destined to head south for recycling.

“For some, it was an opportunity to learn how to handle power tools. For others, it was a welcome chance to be part of a group and spend time sociably. By the end of Sunday afternoon, the finished wormeries were ready to head out into the world, complete with ceremonial starter packs of home-grown worms.

“Wormeries are a great way to compost food waste, including cooked food scraps, without attracting vermin. They can provide a lovely rich compost, as well as a liquid that can be used as a plant feed. Adding a wormery to a household can really cut down on the amount of waste that can otherwise go to landfill.”

Incredible Edible Stromness is part of the national network set up in 2012 in response to a flood of enquiries from folk who heard about the success of the original group in West Yorkshire.

Four years earlier over a cup of tea in a Todmorden café, friends shared stories of the kinder more connected community they’d rather live in and set about making it happen through the growing of food. If you eat, you’re in they said as they encouraged and worked with other locals in growing fruit and vegetables for the community on any neglected or unused public land.

Members of the Stromness group who are hoping to get more food growing locally, are also hoping to grow their group!  Incredible Edible Stromness are now looking for more small areas of land, and for people who want to have fun learning to grow food.

If you’d like to get involved, look out for a poster on the Stromness community noticeboard, or email the group direct.