Creative gardening in Hertsmere

Gardening itself is considered a green activity - but why not ‘push the boat out’ and try your hand at a range of creative gardening tips to make use of household items that may have otherwise gone to waste.

Wellington boot being reused in a garden 

Hertsmere Borough Council and the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership are appealing to residents to reduce the amount of materials that are sent to landfill, and want to encourage people to stop throwing away items that could be reused.

Cllr Jean Heywood, Environment portfolio holder, said: "Reusing products is even better for the environment than recycling. If we all pull together and do our bit for the environment, we really can make a big impact on the amount of waste that is sent to landfill each year."

On average, households in Hertfordshire produce over a tonne of waste.

Have you ever considered what you could do to help the environment? How you could reuse household containers or materials in the garden? Or how you could grow your own vegetables?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Used car tyres stacked up filled with soil can be used to grow potatoes, fruit or even flowers.
• Old crockery such as tea pots can be used to plant herbs and flowers.
• Old net curtains can be used to lay over plants to keep insects off your vegetables and fruit.
• Scrap wood or even old signs could be used to make a bird box - to encourage wildlife into your garden.

If you are interested in turning your garden and kitchen waste into compost, it couldn't be easier. You can get a cut price compost bin delivered to your door through the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership. For more information on this visit www.herts.getcomposting.com. And remember you can also use your green bin to recycle your garden waste, food waste and cardboard.