Garden Waste

For active or aspiring gardeners there are many ways you can Rethink Waste in your garden by reducing, reusing and recycling your household and garden waste. We have provided some helpful tips and ideas to inspire you to get started.

Rethink your food and garden waste

Home composting is a simple way to prevent unavoidable food waste, such as peelings, cores and teabags, ending up in landfill. Along with your garden cuttings you can make fantastic compost which will do wonders for your plants and flowers. Take the work out of turning the compost with a fork or spade by investing in a compost tumbler.
Another great composting method is to install a wormery, which not only creates compost but a superior liquid fertiliser too. Children will also have hours of fun looking after the wriggly worms.

Rethink your potting and planting

Seedlings can be planted in empty yoghurt pots, egg cartons or cardboard toilet roll tubes. Why not create biodegradable pots using old newspaper?
Lollypop sticks are also a useful labelling tool to remind you where everything has been planted.
String old CDs together to discourage the birds from picking at your fruit and vegetables.

Rethink your woodland garden

Shredding branches at home can be used to create mulch or compost additive.
Consider reusing industrial pallets as a substitute for railway sleepers.

Rethink your lawn and borders

Why not reduce garden waste by replacing parts of your lawn with planted borders? Not only will this add a splash of colour, you'll be doing your bit to encourage wildlife in your garden.
Consider using weed barriers made from recycled plastic bottles.
Recycled tyres, in the form of tyre crumb, can act as an attractive mulch and come in a variety of colours.
Conifers such as Leylandii "Castlewellan Gold" are difficult to maintain and create a mountain of green waste. Consider planting low maintenance and low waste hedging such as Escallonia or Photinia "Red Robin", which will also provide year-round colour.

Rethink outdoor living

Reuse empty bottles to create attractive features in planters or in garden walls.
Save hassle by installing low maintenance colourfast decking made from locally recycled plastics.
Recycled tyres, in the form of tyre crumb, can be used as an alternative to gravel for paths or children's play areas.
Reuse interesting household items such as washing machine/tumble dryer tubs or old wellies as planters.

This information leaflet is available to download.