Tips for Managing Garden Waste

As more people make efforts to conserve the planet’s natural resources and move toward the goal of zero waste one area that often gets overlooked is the garden.  Maintaining a garden can generate a significant amount of green waste.

Whether it’s trimming overgrown conifers, mowing the lawn, weeding, or sawing wood for an outdoor trellis, it’s important to dispose of this waste in a responsible and sustainable manner. In this article, we have outlined some tips to help you manage your garden waste in a way that eases the burden on your local landfill site. 

Make Your Own Compost

This is a simple, effective, and eco-friendly way to manage garden waste. You can turn organic material like fallen leaves, food scraps, coffee grounds, and grass cuttings into a nutrient-rich fertiliser that can nourish your soil and plants. Some gardeners even leave their grass clippings on the lawn after mowing it in a process known as ‘grasscycling’.

These clippings decompose quite quickly, and they provide moisture and essential nutrients like nitrogen to the lawn, saving you the effort of collecting them and composting them separately. Composting your garden and kitchen waste in this way allows you to work in tandem with nature, reducing what you add to landfill sites whilst contributing to your garden’s circle of life.

Mulching

While compost is used to provide essential nutrients below the top layer of the soil, mulch is applied to the top layer of the soil to help retain moisture, reduce weeds, improve soil health and fertility, and regulate temperature.

You can make your own mulch by recycling green waste such as straw, newspaper, leaves, grass clippings, branches and bark. This can then be spread around your garden, including the base of trees and plants, flower beds and vegetable gardens, adding valuable nutrients to the soil as it breaks down over time. This also eliminates the need to use artificial fertilisers which contain harsh chemicals that can be harmful to the environment and local groundwater.

By using mulch in your garden, you not only enhance the appearance and health of your soil but also contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to gardening.

Use Green Waste Facilities

Not all garden waste can be used for compost or mulch. You may also need to rely on your local waste management system to dispose of certain green waste such as tree trunks, large branches or other other materials that don’t readily decompose. In such cases, skip bin hire can help in collecting and sorting waste effectively.

Many areas also have green waste disposal facilities allowing you to dispose of such waste in an eco-friendly way so it is worth finding out about the offerings in your local community. Some may offer home collection while others will have designated areas where you can drop off your green waste. By making use of these facilities you can help reduce your impact on the environment and play your part in the circular economy.

By following these simple tips you can turn your green waste into valuable nutrients for your plants, trees and soil and reduce your environmental footprint.