It is Compost Week. This means that residents of Rotterdam can collect free compost. Why should you use compost in your garden or on your balcony? Kate Price works with it a lot and explains. ‘Everyone benefits if we use more compost.’

Compost is food for flowers, trees, plants, vegetables, and fruits. It is a natural resource made from garden waste and vegetable, fruit, and food scraps. We call this gfe+t-waste. The compost that all Rotterdammers can collect for free this week is made from the gfe+t-waste collected by the municipality in the neighborhoods.

Kate Price often uses compost. The artist grew up on a farm in Australia. Compost was part of daily life there: food scraps were thrown on the compost heap and later used as food for the trees and plants. No wonder Price, who is trained as a visual artist, increasingly does projects with compost. Referring to her youth, she smiles and says, ‘Compost is in my blood! Because you reuse your “waste” as plant food, you start thinking more about what you use as food for yourself.’

Pot Garden for TENT

Now Price is working on a pot garden for TENT. TENT has moved from Witte de Withstraat to Coolhaven and opens this weekend. At Coolhaven, Price, along with local residents, shopkeepers, and TENT staff, has created a meter-long garden with flowers and plants in pots. All the greenery stands with its roots in compost that Price received from the municipality.

Compost = Life

Price sees compost as more than material to feed plants. ‘Compost is life! Consider: we “make” compost, together with worms, insects, our food. I see compost not just as plant food, but as a whole system.’

‘Compost is good for your plants because it is nutritious. Urban nature also benefits a lot because compost, unlike artificial fertilizer, is a natural product. Everyone benefits if we use more compost in Rotterdam.’

Collaboration

Price sees compost as a product of collaboration. She likes to incorporate that into her work. That is why Price is much involved in ‘community gardening’, projects where people create gardens together. According to Price, plants are more than decoration.

‘Everyone brings their own plants and seeds to the pot garden. There is a story behind every plant here if you look closely. I think art, and thus this pot garden, can make people look differently at compost and plants. The pot garden is a living archive, to which the whole city – including birds and insects – contributes.’

Where to Collect Compost?

The Week of Compost lasts from March 24 to March 29. All residents of Rotterdam can collect free compost at allotment gardens and recycling parks. But be aware: while supplies last! Curious where and when you can collect compost? Check out rotterdam.nl/gratis-compost.

From Waste to Compost

The Municipality of Rotterdam uses your waste to make compost. Want to know how? Watch the video: