I am watching Live Earth from Wembley on the television. I am wondering, out of the thousands of 'band waggoners' how many are doing their thing and not just paying lip service?
Sir Bob [Geldof] probably went over the top with his 'fucking' (that is probably the only time I will ever swear on this blog) barrage but he is never the less passionate about his cause about famine in Africa.
Some celebrities will of course join the 'cause' to raise their profile and some will genuinely mean what they say and practice what they preach.
As a gardener we can do our bit................OK, sorry. I will re-phrase that because I know from experience that most gardeners are very passionate about re-cycling.
What can we do to reduce landfill and help reduce omissions and benefit from our efforts?
The obvious one is recycling of all of our garden and kitchen waste. Get yourself a composter (even if it is just a plastic dustbin). If you really really really need to have it collected then put it in the brown bin. (check your local council for details)
When you change your engine oil on any of your mowers, take the oil to a local garage or the municipal tip. There is usually an oil tank where you can pour your waste and it will go for recycling. Bear in mid that you can dispose of mowers and metal at most council dumps too.
Use your grass clippings as a mulch cum fertiliser. It is not that widely known that old grass cuttings will return nitrogen to the soil as they rot. Any thick layer will also reduce the need to strim around trees, retain water and deter weeds at the same time. The alternative is use a mulching mower for large areas.
Don't use accelerant's to start your garden fire. I really think that a bonfire will not cause a great problem to the world as a whole but if we use spent oil, diesel, old tyres or plastic to get the fire going the toxins will not help in the great scheme.
Dispose of any out of date chemicals or fertilisers. Most councils or private contractors will have the facility to take away banned, damaged and noxious substances without any fear of repercussions. What ever you do don't dig a hole and bury it. You will not get into trouble f you still have something that is now not available or banned. Just do the right thing.
After a busy day in the garden, make sure you do not throw your wine bottle in the bin but take it to the proper recycling depot. I featured Green Glass before but seriously, they are finding away to avoid glass going into landfill.
There are many more ways we can all help the planet and the five about just scrape the surface but hopefully you will share my point.
Just to add my own foot note: I am not so convinced about climate change. I am convinced that cycles are at work and we are in one.
A volcano will omit as much vomit as several years of air plane use and mother nature is in charge of volcano's.
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