Reader tips
We’ve received some terrific recycling ideas from our readers. We hope these inspire you to come up with other ways of re-using everyday items, rather than throwing them in the bin. Mark Walker from Duns Creek, NSW has re-used PET plastic bottle caps as pot feet under small and medium-sized patio pots to elevate the pots, which improves drainage. He says they’re surprisingly strong and durable. What a great idea! They could also go under indoor plants, inside the decorative container, to raise them up a few centimetres so the roots don’t become waterlogged.
Julie Mellor from Young, NSW has turned waste into art, creating these striking, shiny spheres. They were made by wiring ring-pull can lids to wire hanging basket frames, and they are seen here hanging from her beautiful Chinese pistachio tree.
Michael Scarborough from Fairy Hill, NSW has used 2L sauce bottles with squeeze sauce bottle tops as containers for liquid fertilisers so he can pour out the right amount without it spilling. He uses different-coloured tops to identify different products. No more drips! Make sure you label the containers.
FERTILISERS & SPRAYS
Liquid fertilisers act quickly and are taken up by the roots and foliage of plants. It’s best to avoid single-use or ready-to-use plastic trigger-spray packs as much as possible, as they are more expensive and wasteful if they can’t be refilled. Instead, purchase concentrates and dilute them in good quality reusable sprayers. Look for the Plastics Identification Code on the bottom of fertiliser containers to see if they can be recycled. Bottles with the numbers 2 and 5 can go into the kerbside recycling bin in most council areas, but it’s always best to check with your local council to be sure. Give the bottles a rinse first. Dispose of used chemical containers or older unlabelled chemicals appropriately through your local council chemical collection points.
KITCHEN SCRAPS
Recycling kitchen scraps via composting or a worm farm is the most effective way to reduce up to half your household waste, which would otherwise end up in landfill. Composting not only helps to improve our environment, it also creates a valuable resource from waste to use in our gardens. The type of compost bin or worm farm you choose will depend on your site and your preference. See our detailed guide to compost on page 37.