Barriers to recycling
The greatest barriers to recycling are the effort involved and a lack information on what to do. With the current explosion in packaging, busy lifestyles and expectations of 'instant', maintenance-free gardens, the thought of collecting kitchen waste and regularly emptying it into a compost heap is enough to put some people off. However, the alternative is to leave this matter inside a warm kitchen where, mixed with the other kitchen waste, it soon begins to decompose and smell, resulting in two or three bin changes a week. Add to this the financial saving of buying less organic matter from the garden centre and the benefits to both the environment and the garden, and recycling seems much more attractive.

Early attempts by local authorities to encourage home composting had a disappointingly high failure rate, primarily because insufficient information or help was provided. Lessons have been learned since, and information is becoming increasingly accessible from local authorities and organisations such as the Royal Horticultural Society, the Henry Doubleday Research Association and the Centre for Alternative Technology (contact addresses below). A wealth of information is also now available on the internet.

Having made the decision to recycle, the gardener can choose which of several approaches suits them best, given the time and materials available (Preferred ways of recycling).

Jon Pickering is a horticultural scientist at the RHS Garden Wisley with an interest in soils and composting.

Composting process

Shredding and mulching

Further information

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