Recycling
Gardeners have many opportunities to reduce or recycle waste materials from their gardens and homes. The most important recycling activity in gardens is the composting of plant residues. This can be done in even the smallest of gardens where the resulting compost will improve soil fertility and plant growth. Composting and the recycling of other waste materials is actively practised at all Royal Horticultural Society Gardens.
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A summary of RHS policy
1) The RHS actively supports initiatives to reduce the volume of garden waste disposed of through landfill, incineration and fly-tipping.
2) The RHS encourages the responsible disposal of waste materials by recommending:
(i) The composting of waste plant material, including appropriate kitchen waste, to produce organic matter for soil incorporation and ground mulching.
(ii) The shredding and chipping of woody plant material for use as a ground mulch and, where appropriate, as a potting compost ingredient.
(iii) The re-use or recycling of plastic-based materials, timber, waste paper and cardboard, scrap metal and glass wherever possible.
(iv) The careful disposal of items that cannot be reused or recycled, such as unwanted garden chemicals, by consulting the local authority’s waste disposal department.
3) The RHS endorses local authority initiatives for the collation and composting of waste plant material from gardens, and the provision of subsidised compost bins for community or home composting.
4) The RHS promotes the re-use wherever possible of all materials used by exhibitors at its Flower Shows.
5) The RHS believes there are environmental and social disadvantages to bonfires. Where appropriate, composting or shredding are preferable alternatives.
6) The RHS adopts and demonstrates these policies in the management of its own Gardens and promotes the principles of recycling as a positive contribution to the care of the environment through its advisory services to gardeners.