Bath & North East Somerset Council is thanking residents for heeding advice about not having bonfires – and reminding them of other options to manage garden waste which will help them during this next phase of the public response to the coronavirus outbreak.

At the end of March the council asked people to avoid lighting fires in case people living near them had breathing difficulties, resulting in a positive response from residents with complaints about bonfires having fallen this month.

Garden waste and bulky waste collections restarted in April and the council is also promoting the benefits home composting can bring to people's gardens as well as the environment.

Composting is an inexpensive way to convert kitchen and garden waste into a nutrient-rich food for gardens. This helps the soil and contains everything plants need, as well as saving carbon dioxide emissions from not having to dispose of the waste by another method.

Residents are being encouraged to follow Recycle Now's step-by-step guide on how to set up a compost bin and how to make compost at the recycle website

Councillor Sarah Warren, cabinet member for Climate Emergency, said: "Thank you to residents who have kept their neighbours' health in mind and avoided having bonfires – I hope the low number of complaints we've received so far in May means this consideration for others will continue.

"A compost bin is a great way to dispose of garden and kitchen waste. The bin can be placed on different surfaces including soil, paving or gravel in a sunny spot and nature does the rest. There are lots of tips available to help people get composting right on Recycle Now and we have also teamed up with Get Composting to provide good-value bins for residents in Bath and North East Somerset."

Compost bins, water butts and more low-cost environmental products are available at https://getcomposting.com/ when residents enter their postcode.