By Press Release
Spring is on its way and, for many of us, our thoughts turn to our gardens.
Gardening is a great way to spend time in the outdoors and bring beauty to your home. But with the joy of gardening also comes the hassle of disposing of green waste. Whether it’s from pruning, trimming or simply mowing your lawn, it can be a challenge to dispose of garden waste in an eco-friendly way.
Composting is the go-to way to dispose of green waste, but it’s not always the perfect solution, especially in today’s smaller gardens. Compost needs to be maintained carefully in order to break down the organic matter and prevent unpleasant odours from forming. It can attract unwanted pests like mice or rats, which can create a breeding ground for diseases and parasites.
Fortunately, the Isle of Wight Council has a Green Garden Waste collection service that can solve the problems, and it opened yesterday to new subscribers after existing customers were given priority to renew.
The optional fortnightly scheme runs from April 1 to March 31 next year, and provides customers with a 240-litre (53 gallon) wheeled bin or three reusable hessian sacks, to be picked up from the kerbside for a total cost of £96 per year, working out at £8 a month. It deals with garden waste such as grass cuttings, leaves and sticks and includes a free Christmas tree collection service.
Councillor Karen Lucioni, cabinet member for waste, said: “Let us come to you and make your gardening life easier. Your garden waste will be picked up from your doorstep, taking the hassle out of driving to the tip. You also won’t have to put heavy and wet garden waste in your car boot.”
Strategic manager for environment, Natasha Dix, added: “Our garden waste scheme is popular with many customers, and all garden waste collected is composted locally here on the Island. In the last year we have recycled a massive 4,005 tons – helping us meet our national recycling targets So why not sign up today?”
For more information or to subscribe visit iow.gov.uk/gardenwastesubscriptions.
WIN A SUBSCRIPTION FOR FREE!
There’s one thing even better than subscribing to the IW Council’s Green Garden Waste Service – and that’s getting the service for free!
Two lucky readers can win an annual subscription to the service, each worth £96 – absolutely free. And if you’ve already signed up, your fee will be refunded.
Just send in your contact details and the answer to the question ‘How many tons have the Isle of Wight Council’s waste service composted on the Island in the last year?’. You can enter by email to competition@iwobserver.co.uk, text us on 07469 629071 or call 221050.
The competition closes at 5pm next Friday (March 3), when we will pick two winners at random from the correct entries received.