Do You Love Gardening? 5 Eco Ways To Approach Green Waste Disposal
However big or small your garden, you’ll sometimes end up with garden waste. The weeds you pull up, the offcuts from pruned hedges, cuttings from the lawn and the dead heads of flowers can all mount up. And if you’ve planned a major garden overhaul, it’s likely that the garden waste is piling up rapidly.
Some people go ahead and dump their garden waste in the regular bin for general waste. This poses a problem. Waste from this bin will be taken to a landfill. Whilst your garden waste will decompose at the landfill, it won’t have the oxygen necessary to decompose in an appropriate fashion. Instead, without oxygen, your waste will produce methane gas as it decomposes. The gas plays a big part in global warming. Therefore, it’s much better to find an eco-friendly way to dispose of your green waste.
Here are five disposal methods that help protect the environment:
Compost
One of the easiest and most useful ways to get rid of garden waste is by installing your own compost bin in a corner of the garden. Put your garden offcuts into the bin, make sure the lid is securely fastened, and over time you’ll build up your own supply of compost, excellent for feeding your plants. You could also have a mini bin in the kitchen for your vegetable cuttings. These can also be added to your compost bin.
Worms
Worms are great garden recyclers. They eat your garden waste and then transform it into compost. So you see there’s a very good reason they’re called the “gardener’s friend”. You can find a worm bin online and in some garden centres. All you need to do is populate your worm bin with worms – red wigglers and white worms are some of the best to choose – and feed them with your garden waste.
Recycle and Freecycle
Do what you can to reuse your garden waste. If you have branches and twigs, let them dry out and use them to light a fire in the winter. Equally, if you are getting rid of whole plants or trees, advertise them on Freecycle or Gumtree. It may be that you find another local gardener who has just the right place for them in their own green space.
Green Bin
Most homes have a green bin in which they can put their garden waste. If you don’t have one, it’s possible to order one online. Garden waste left out for collection in the green bin will be taken to a bio-waste composting facility. Unlike a landfill, this place is specially designed to deal with garden waste. Air, temperature and humidity are all measured and managed to maximise the composting process. The compost created in the bio-waste facility is then taken by farmers and gardeners to help their crops and plants to grow.
Hire A Garden Waste Company
Sometimes, even if you have a green bin, there’s still just not enough space for all of your garden waste. This can be a particular issue if you’ve been working on a big garden project. In these cases, it may be worth calling up a garden waste collection company. They can come to your home and pick up large quantities of garden waste, before taking it all to be safely and properly composted.
Think of the environment when getting rid of your garden waste. Eco-friendly disposal can also benefit your garden as composting and worm bins will create the materials you need to keep your garden healthy and thriving for many years to come.
