Recycle everything!

There’s always a second use for almost all of your household bits and bobs!

Create lots of lovely compost – It may seem obvious, or you may not have room for a heap, so you’ve discarded the thought. But just think of the amount of waste you’d reduce. It’s the ultimate way to reuse a vast amount of rubbish and doesn’t take up that much space in the corner. Kitchen scraps, old plant material and prunings, all carefully and equally balanced in an aerated heap in light shade, will take around six months to a year to break down into the most wonderful soil improver and mulch feed for your borders. And not a penny spent! Turn occasionally to aid decomposition. The onset of autumn means leaf mould

time, too, so collect all y your fallen leaves in a black plastic bag with holes in and wait for it to rot down beautifully.

Everything’s a container – You might be a li le put off by some people’s use of old toilets, smelly boots and dodgy buckets as plant containers, which take recycling to the next level! But the idea’s there, so why not punch holes in old tin seed containers for a rustic look, or an unused wicker hamper can be lined with old compost bags and filled with lovely plants. Stylish upcycling, I say!

Save all packaging – Old compost bags are useful to carry tools in, or used to

transportp y your own compost.p Use them as a strong, sturdy weed suppressant on borders or pond and pot liners. Supermarket plastic punnets, egg boxes, yoghurt pots and plug plant pots are all just itching to be recycled, so save them for seed sowing, chi ing and harvesting vessels. Even the handled end half of a large milk carton makes for a great soil scoop! Why buy any new ones?

Be water-wise – Relatively clean water from your washing up bowl is perfectly good to use on plants, and old boiled water from cooking veg can either be cooled for watering, or thrown straight on pesky weeds and ants!