How much will it save?

THome composting reduces waste and also saves money by diverting material away from landfill.

Most council's in the UK have collection and disposal costs of £40 per tonne upwards - to more than £100 per tonne. Estimates vary as to how much waste is diverted by home composting, but most are around 200kg per household per year. We have used 220kg per year for the purposes of our calculations.

If this is achieved at £40 per tonne costs, the saving is £8.79 per year, enough to subsidise one compost bin. At £100 per tonne costs, the saving is £21.98 per year which is enough to give the bin away free. Our compost bins are guaranteed for 10 years and so as the collection and disposal costs keep rising, the savings will keep rolling in.

What is more, using a home compost bin saves carbon emissions too. Waste does not have to be transported to landfill where it will give off methane. Instead, keep it at home and turn it into free soil conditioner.

Table 1: Annual Saving

Collection and Delivery Cost (+ VAT)	Annual Saving (+ VAT)	10 Years Saving (+ VAT)
£40.00	£8.79	£87.91
£50.00	£10.99	£109.89
£60.00	£13.19	£131.87
£70.00	£15.38	£153.85
£80.00	£17.58	£175.82
£90.00	£19.78	£197.80
£100.00	£21.98	£219.78

Annual saving and 10 years saving based on 220kg diversion per annum for various collection and disposal costs.

So subsidising a compost bin by £10 (£8.70 + VAT) will pay back in under 12 months.

Promotion

Our prices include setting up a web site for your offer which can be linked from the council's own site. We offer PR templates that can be used to target local media. We also offer free artwork for any advertisements you may with to place in council publications or with the local press.

We recommend doordrops as the most effective means of promotion and we will design and print leaflets for you at cost. Delivery of these leaflets along with new recycling bins or boxes is one of the best forms of promotion. Leaflets delivered by the refuse operatives also yield excellent results. If you cannot distribute leaflets yourself we can arrange delivery either with local free papers or solus with the Royal Mail or similar, again at cost.

If you prefer, you can of course arrange your own promotion. The only rule is that we must have sight of it before it goes to press.

Robust statistics and reporting

As well as providing a monthly update, we maintain meticulous records of who has bought a bin and where they live. This ensures that if home composting can be included in the recycling rates in the future, we have the statistics available for you on demand. Our records go back more than 10 years and we may well hold information on historic schemes too.

Newsletter

We will produce a quarterly newsletter which is available to all customers without charge. To save paper, this is distributed by e-mail and will also be made available for download from the Blackwall web site. The newsletter will include seasonal hints and tips as well as news, advice and special offers.

Subsidy

We have tried to keep our prices as competitive as possible. However, with the sale of compost bins there is a clear relationship between the price charged and the take up of the offer.

For a home delivered offer, we would suggest a selling price of £10 - £15 as a maximum and this will require some financial input. Here is where the VAT man helps you. Each £5 off the price only costs £4.35 plus VAT.

Helpline support

AAny user of our compost bins can call our local rate helpline at any time in the future if help with home composting is needed or if any advice is required.

Customers can also e-mail the Compost Doctor for advice.

Annual Survey

An annual survey of all customers will be carried out. Again, to save on paper use this is conducted via e-mail with response via the web. The survey allows us to advise you of a number of statistics including whether the compost bin is still being used year on year.

Water butts too!

At Blackwall, not only are we the UK's biggest supplier of compost bins, we are the biggest supplier of water butts too.

We work with almost all of the UK's water companies on joint offers. A choice of water butt kits can be added to your offer at a preferential price and sometimes we are able to negotiate funding towards the promotion of your campaign.

The standard Rainsaver® water butt kit shown here includes a stand, a child-safe lid, tap and diverter. It is made from 75% recycled plastic and is guaranteed for 5 years.

Our prices are generally lower than high street prices and are almost always lower than other mail order supplies.