How your garden waste can save the world

Recycling garden waste can be an important way to save our planet. Here is how you can do your part.

27% of all household waste is green waste

The three Rs apply to every aspect of our lives. This includes our gardens.

According to a study by Southampton University, on average each UK household produces 288kg of green waste per year. So how can the tonnes of annual London garden waste save the planet?

Only 3% of households nationally compost, here’s why you should start

Turning your hedge trimmings and potato peels into compost allows you to grow your own vegetables. Not only is this rewarding and a money saver, growing our own fresh produce reduces the amount of plastic packaging used by supermarkets. According to Greenpeace UK, British supermarkets create 1.2 billion plastic bags each year to use for fruits and vegetables. That is 38,000 tonnes of polluting plastic.

Cutting back on excess plastic is not the only way that growing your own produce helps the environment. It eliminates the emissions generated by transporting and processing food from distant farms to your supermarket shelves. 

Composting garden waste can fight global warming

Making your own compost also has a lesser known benefit; it helps preserve peat bogs. Peat is a slowly decaying bundle of plant matter that is usually found in bogs. Globally, peatlands are the most efficient carbon sink. A carbon sink is something naturally occurring that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Peat bogs are so essential to our fight against climate change that the Scottish government spends over £50 million each year preserving them. 

 

Peat is, however, often used in compost. Harvesting the peat for this purpose damages the ecosystem, releases carbon gasses into the atmosphere, and prevents even more carbon dioxide being absorbed. If you recycle your garden waste, you are not only preserving a key part of the British countryside, but helping protect one of nature’s best ways of fighting climate change.

 

Obstacles to recycling garden waste

So why do people not recycle 100% of their garden waste? Quite simply, it’s not that easy. In most of London, garden waste collections occur once every two weeks. Should you miss the day, you might have to find a place to store the giant, full bags of trimmings until the following month. Some London councils also charge for this service throughout the year. This means that you could be paying for garden waste removal that you don’t need in December, instead of only peak spring and summer months. Finally, green waste removal does not include green waste clearance. It can be difficult to chop tree trunks to make them fit in the bags, and then drag the heavy bags round to the front of your property for collection. 

Local Green Waste Solutions

Fortunately there is a solution. Waste management companies are also equipped for garden waste clearance and green waste collections. The advantages of calling in experts for garden waste removal are clear. You pay for only what you need, when you need it. 

 

You do not have to spend your time sawing tree branches to make them fit into special bags. Reputable companies, such as London Waste Management, come directly to your garden and do the heavy lifting themselves. When it comes to green waste, London households have no excuse not to call the professionals for recycling.

 

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