Skip Bin Hire: What Happens to Your Garden Waste (And Why You Need to Separate It)
When you hire a skip bin, chances are that you'll use the opportunity to get rid of some garden waste. Garden waste should not be sent to landfill if at all possible. As the waste biodegrades, it produces a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide gasses. This gas can seep towards the surface of the ground and eventually escape, contributing to air pollution. It can also affect the quality of the soil while it's underground. Garden waste should be placed into a separate bag before being put into a skip bin. Even a cheap bin hire company will send the garden waste to the appropriate recycling facility. But what happens to your garden waste after that?
The Sorting Process
The garden waste is sorted by hand to ensure that any non-organic waste is removed. This might be a sliver of the bag it was packed into, or it might be something larger that was mistakenly disposed of with the garden waste.
The Composting Process
Larger pieces of garden waste (such as tree branches) are then shredded. The garden waste is subjected to a process known as in-vessel composting. This is essentially when the waste is placed into a large, enclosed container. Gas will be produced at this stage, but this gas is contained and results in an elevated temperature within the container. This elevated temperature can help to kill bacteria and weeds, making the garden waste cleaner.
What Happens to the Garden Waste
The garden waste has now been composted. This entire process is conducted by your local council, and it's at local parks and green areas that this compost will be used. This is why it's important to separate your garden waste so that your skip bin hire company can send it to the appropriate composting facility. Just in case there's any confusion, what is considered to be garden waste?
- Grass clippings
- Hedge trimmings
- Tree and plant cuttings (including large branches and even entire plants)
- Food waste
Remember that human and animal waste is not considered to be garden or green waste. So don't put any dog droppings in with your garden waste!
To make it possible for this garden waste to be recycled, remember to place it into a separate bag before putting it into your skip bin. A sturdy plastic rubbish bag will do the job. This means that it can easily be sent to recycling. And who knows, perhaps a beautiful local park has benefited from your composted garden waste.