The long, cold days of winter are finally passing and the spring sun is starting to show its face; people all over the UK are donning their gardening gloves, arming themselves with strimmers and loppers, and turning their attention to their neglected lawns – this can only mean one thing: it’s National Garden Month 2017.
For councils, it’s an opportune time to engage with citizens, raise awareness of green waste, and encourage composting over sending garden trimmings and cuttings to landfill.
What is National Garden Month?
April is National Garden Month – with National Gardening Week falling smack bang in the middle (10th-16th April) – it’s a time to blow off those cobwebs, get up off the sofa, and get to know the outdoors a little better.
Budding horticulturists (no pun intended!) are encouraged to tackle their gardens – pruning, trimming and planting to create a spot for relaxing and socialising come the warmer months.
National Garden Month is great for getting all the family involved too – dragging the spouse and the kids away from their consoles and mobiles, and out into the garden to spend time together sprucing up for summer.
Gardening activities this April
The weather is (hopefully) looking better come April – give or take a few showers – which makes it an ideal month for residents to do routine tasks like mow the lawn, cut back unruly shrubs, kill off those pesky weeds, and give plants some TLC.
But there’s a whole lot more that can be done during April to make the most of the garden; and these odd jobs, whether that’s a cut and trim here and there, or a complete soil overhaul, all add up to create a lot more green waste.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society, these are some of the essential jobs for green-fingered folk this month:
- Weeding
- Taming and tending to roses
- Sowing herbs, wildflowers, and hardy annuals
- Taking care of fruit trees
- Feeding shrubs
- Replenishing the lawn
More gardening means more garden waste
All the extra effort spent outdoors in the spring results in a hefty increase in the volumes of garden waste; the weeds and cut grass have to go somewhere!
Some residents will choose to compost their own garden waste at home, but depending on time and space, this is not feasible for all; so many citizens will be considering other ways of getting rid of their garden waste. This is where Councils come in.
Raising awareness of green waste
It may not be the first offender that springs to mind when residents think about refuse, but when sent to landfill, garden waste decomposes and produces harmful greenhouse gases, contributing to environmental pollution.
Local Authorities are under increasing pressure to meet waste targets, which include recycling more organic waste and reducing the amount sent to landfill, so making citizens aware of what they should do with their plant cuttings and trimmings, and the impact this can have on the environment, is vital. And it’s best to engage with residents at this time of year when mowing the lawn and planting new seeds is at the front of their minds.
Managing garden waste subscriptions
If your Council is drowning under the weight of managing its garden waste subscriptions, especially as residents begin to generate more green waste during the warmer months, then our software could offer a welcome solution.
Visit our Garden Waste page to read more about how our solution can help streamline your garden waste subscriptions, saving your council valuable time and money.