Question

Hi, our local council are giving us the wheelie bins for recycling, of which I’m super excited! Anyway I have about 9 of the plastic recycling boxes (6 of us makes a lot of recycling! ) I was wondering if any of you had any ideas on how I could recycle the recycling boxes? Make them into something else in the garden or any quirky ideas for planters, I was trying to think of a way to help the wildlife too if anyone can expand on that. Thanks  

Answer 1

They're a great size for veg. planters. You need to drill holes, fill with good earth and make a cluster: peas, red salad bowl lettuce, green salad bowl lettuce, chantenay carrots, beetroot and rainbow chard. Or a different packet of hardy annuals on each one: yellow calendula, orange calendula, nigella, godetia, nemesia.  

Answer 2

Think of layering the actual boxes. Get some bricks and play with the levels. You never know, you might get some inspiration for a trailing waterfall ;)

Answer 3

You could easily make one into a pond for wildlife ☺️ Sprinkle wildflower/bee friendly seeds into one or two and place them (or even bury them? ) in the borders, so they don’t take over everything?  

Comments

@seagraves i already have a pond but I do like the bee friendly idea an keeps it nice a neat, thank you  

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@cullum I’d love to squeeze a small pond in my garden, I may try it this year  

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@seagraves oh do try! It’s beautiful to hear the water, and the plants are so lovely and I had so much wildlife move into it fairly quickly too. The kids sit and watch it for hours! They love it! We all love the pond ☺️ x

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@cullum what did you use for the pond, was it a container or anything else up cycled? Does it require any maintenance after planting the plants?  

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@seagraves so I put an actual pond in, dug a big hole, put a pond mat in and then the liner in, I swapped with my neighbour some top soil that I dug out for her rocks and paving slabs and used them to keep the liner in place. Then I got a filter and a couple of plants, some of which I’ve got from other people when they have taken over their ponds!  It took me about 2 days in summer to dig out and line and make the pond. And cost me around £100 for the liner and matting and the filter, an then about £20 for plants from the garden centre to get it going. I have a wishing well next to it that I used for our wedding too, nice little bit for me and my husband to sit by ☺️ Really only maintenance I do is every so often I get out the algae when it gets too much an clean the filter. Ours doesn’t have fish, just wildlife, so all the little creatures that live and breed in water come to live in our pond. We had a dragonfly last year! I was so in awe of it I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture, it was the first one I had seen since I’m about 30 years! X

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@cullum I LOVE this so much! Thank you for the detailed response, that helps me to understand what I need. the filter you mentioned; it’s to clean the pond water? Isn’t pond water meant to be dirty? I have a solar powered floating water fountain thing I wanted to use in it, would that work?  

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@cullum one last question I promise; does a pond have to be in full sun or could I place it in a shady area?  

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@seagraves so it’s a filter that filters muck out cos even though there’s no fish there seems to be what I keep calling muck in there lol It’s got a water fountain thing on it, that helps to aerate the water for the plants. I think if your not having fish in then defo maybe a water fountain thing for the air for the plants but like I say there seems to be muck that collects lol  Maybe from stuff that falls into the pond I’m not sure, I got told that if your pond has wildlife then it’s doing well ‍♀️ i am a complete beginner with ponds, my husband was adamant that I couldn’t do it and it would take me months to complete! Showed him! Haha  

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@seagraves place in shade! One thing I’ve found is algae grows very well in sun! That’s the mistake I made was I put it in a sunny position an now I do get a lot of algae growth hence me pulling it out a lot x

Answer 4

Before you do anything, check they're not collecting them back

Comments

@deledda in our area they sent leaflets out saying if you wanted them collecting leave them out. if not you can keep them x

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@deledda I’ve already checked, we can either keep them or hand them back for the council to dispose of x

Answer 5

Prop one up but twigs and straw in bugs will make it there home

Comments

@threesquare lovely idea thank you  

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@cullum or put on its side put logs, twigs, leaves and anything else

Answer 6

Spray them with plasticote, vinyl transfers and use them as planters, that's what I'm doing

Answer 7

I'd keep a couple for extra plastic! 4 of us regular fill out plastic box. You will probably need to use an extra one.  

Comments

@jeopardize3 some areas won’t accept them anymore for example in my area cardboard or paper isn’t allowed in recycling anymore it has to go in the new bag they’ve provided

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@jeopardize3 oh that’s a thought, also if I do manage to go over will they take it.? I have about 9 boxes that are always full and emptied every fortnight, I wonder if I’ll fill the bins too quickly  

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We have a bin with the 3 boxes and if I put anything extra they will collect. Guess it depends on council rules / the binmen themselves. Mine are great and wave at my little lad every week!  

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@jeopardize3 aww that sounds like you have some good ones, I think mine think I’m a loony, cos I recycle as much as possible an there’s 6 of us an 2 cats so it adds up to a lot of recycling every two weeks! I think they dread coming to my 9 boxes when everyone else in the street puts out 2 or 3! lol  

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@cullum we get weekly collection and my plastic and paper is regularly full. Good luck. X

Answer 8

Turn one into a bed for hedgehogs

Answer 9

I have raspberries planted in mine

Answer 10

Line it and make a pond

Answer 11

I've grown pototoes in mine & had good crop of them too

Answer 12

Mint and Lemon balm spreads like crazy and takes over ideal for boxes

Answer 13

Great for growing veg x

Answer 14

We got a bin in replace of bins last year. I even took the neighbours spare bins. I used them as planters grew tomatoes, sunflowers, kale, squash etc in them. Going to do the same this year.  

Answer 15

I painted mine with masonry paint, gravel in bottom, potting compost, my clematis loves it, on a north facing position, up to the bungalow guttering - keep wet in dry periods - also grown marrows in them -

Comments

@goethe1 I’ve always struggled to grow clematis in the ground, my gran always said they are getting clematis rot, I will definitely give this a go! Thank you  x

Answer 16

I use mine as planters just drill holes in bottom

Answer 17

Grow potatoes in them. X

Answer 18

Grow veg in them

Answer 19

I grow potatoes, runner beans, lettuce, tomatoes in my old boxes. Also use them for my perennials out the front in the woodland garden. I'm going to make a hedgehog shelter for the woodland garden too.  

Answer 20

Hedgehog feeding station perhaps ?  

Answer 21

We have 2 wheelie bins for recycling 7 in house

Comments

@autoroute we will have 4 bins in total when they arrive, super excited about it, will be much easier to keep organised and tidy. We recycle everything and things that can’t be recycled but burnt go into the incinerator. Try to put as little into the landfill as possible.  

Answer 22

Herb box’s or bug box’s or plant flowers for bees and butterflies  

Answer 23

We use them as planters but decorate them firstly

Answer 24

We have had wheelies for years. I used them for storage in attic xxx

Answer 25

I grew potatoes in ours and peas we had good crops

Answer 26

Wild flowers  

Answer 27

We use ours to take rubble to tip or storing car stuff in garage

Answer 28

Put holes in the bottem and plant up with flowers and veg

Answer 29

If you grow cucumber and you want them straight you could grow them up the tube somehow. I use mine in summer when I'm away for a long day. Buy some orange screw on drippers. Cut the bottom out then you can water pots in the morning with the drippers slowly releasing water

Answer 30

I grow carrots or potatoes in mine. X

Answer 31

Fab for growing potatoes in x

Answer 32

Christ we have to pay £40 for ours ! Even if its your first bin or they get robbed or the machine eats them !  

Comments

@yeh66 @generally Hickton ours are gonna be no longer in use they are swapping them for wheelie bins

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@cullum that's what we have to pay for the bins. We only have bins. Black general , blue for recycling and green garden waste. The green bin is £40 plus £37 a year extra to empty it 6 times ! X

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@yeh66 @generally Hickton wow they are not charging to empty but I don’t think it will be long x

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@yeh66 @generally Hickton 6 times? I pay £32 a year. from March till October, , , every 2 weeks

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@idola supposed to be 2 weekly but they always don't turn up x

Answer 33

Ive got a worm farm going into 2 of mine and veggies in summer , put all food waste into my worms and in spring use it for my garden , needless to say my veggies love it

Comments

Ooh im going to make a wormery

Answer 34

The bins are great for growing carrots, holes in the bottom done for you. just deep enough for growth. no stones in compost worked very well for me.  

Answer 35

Can I ask. How deep these containers are? I have access to containers of a sort and now after reading these suggestions I'm thinking of using them in my garden for the likes of carrots and potatoes. leaving raised beds free for other things. Thanks