The importance of avoiding waste cannot be lost on anyone in the modern age. Every piece of disposable waste that goes to landfill creates one more burden for the planet, and as we can all see, there is only so much Mother Earth can take. The process of recycling where possible, buying items with less packaging, and finding alternative fueling methods is certainly a good start, but there is always more we can do.

The Zero-Waste Garden: How To Use, Not Dispose

​It is appropriate, for example, that one of the areas that can best assist - and will be assisted by - our green efforts is the garden. It’s genuinely impressive to see how this patch of land can be nourished by entirely renewable sources - and if managed correctly, it can also assist you by taking some financial strain away. Below are some examples of how waste from elsewhere can be repurposed to keep your garden green and growing.

​Compost is a start, but you can get better results

It is a hugely beneficial move to start a compost heap (or a composting bin) in your garden, cutting food waste dramatically and providing some assistance to your soil and plants. Be careful about what you put on the pile, though, because some items can be put to best use by staying separate. After breakfast (and possibly other meals), make a point of collecting eggshells and coffee grounds and crushing them up together. The former are rich in calcium, the latter in nitrogen and, when tilled into the soil in Fall, will see a high-quality environment for plants in spring.

Make mulch of whatever you can

It’s more than possible to buy quality mulch for use in your garden, and its benefits are undeniable; cutting down on the amount you need to water, keeping pests under control, and more. Still, it costs money to buy those big bags, and they’re not easy to transport, so consider mulching with waste items that would otherwise be discarded. After every gutter cleaning, ask to keep the leaves that will have been removed and use them. Old newspapers, cardboard and even natural-fiber cat litter (used or not!) can be pressed into service as mulch.

Produce waste can be regrown

Whether you’re stripping leaves for a salad or chopping celery for a casserole, you can make use of all of the veg you’ve bought by replanting it to grow your own. The end piece of these vegetables is never used in cooking and is all too easy to discard. After all, percentage-wise, it must cost a few cents, so why not compost it, right?

Well, with a few days in a shallow bowl of water, that end part will begin to sprout roots and can then be planted into the soil, giving you a sustainable way of growing free veg. Similarly, if potatoes or garlic bulbs have begun to sprout, plant them in soil and you’ll have fresh veg for the kitchen in due course.

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