Waste not, want not

The American environmental campaigner Annie Leonard once said, “There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.” This fact challenges us all to pause before buying new for the garden, and consider where our old paving and furniture may end up if they’re thrown on a skip. In a bid to reduce waste and promote sustainability, many leading landscape designers and garden makers are reusing materials. Garden designer Jilayne Rickards uses reclaimed materials because they lend a sense of age, history and character to a garden that can’t be achieved with new items. “This sustainable approach also reduces a garden’s carbon impact, preventing items going to landfill and polluting the soil and groundwater,” she says.

Reusing some building materials can also boost wildlife habitats. “It’s amazing what will grow in crushed cement – a waste product from the building trade,” says green-roof and brownfield planting expert John Little. “Wildflower species that support masses of insects thrive in this low-fertility, weed-free chalky material.”

What can be reclaimed?

Designer Steve Williams says the cheapest and easiest products to recycle are often right on your doorstep. “I always carry out an audit of any garden I design to see what can be salvaged. Old concrete paving and brick walls can be crushed and used as a sub-base for paving or made into gravel paths. I also use them on green roofs, where they provide a great growing medium for native plants.”

Steve suggests hiring a mini crusher to do it yourself. “A garden designer or landscaper can help with this, but there’s nothing to stop you crushing these materials yourself. Just remember to wear ear defenders, goggles and steel top-capped boots.”

Alternatively, you can use your waste materials to fill galvanised steel-framed gabions to build walls, raised beds and even furniture – for a smart finish, use stone to line the section facing out and back fill behind this with the waste material