Recycling and Sustainability at Gardeners Seven Kings

At Gardeners Seven Kings we are committed to creating an eco-friendly waste disposal area and a truly sustainable rubbish gardening area for the Seven Kings community. Our approach blends practical on-site recycling, low-carbon logistics and collaborative reuse schemes so that garden waste, green waste and common household recyclables are diverted from landfill. We aim to be a local exemplar for greener gardening and responsible waste management.

Our recycling ambition and targets

We have set a clear, measurable recycling percentage target: 75% overall recycling and reuse by 2028 across all Gardeners Seven Kings operations. This target covers garden waste composting, wood and green material reuse, and separation of dry recyclables. Achieving a 75% recycling rate depends on consistent sorting in our eco gardening area and better separation practices that mirror the boroughs' approach to waste separation.

How borough waste separation informs our practice

The London Borough of Redbridge and neighbouring boroughs emphasise separate streams for dry recycling, food waste, garden waste and residual refuse. We follow this model by maintaining clearly labelled bays in our eco-friendly waste disposal areas: separate containers for paper and card, mixed recycling, rich green garden waste destined for composting, and a small residual stream. Adopting borough-style separation helps residents and contractors recycle correctly and reduces contamination of recycling loads.

Our sustainable rubbish gardening area is designed for easy use: drop-off points for brushwood, leaf matter and turf, plus a dedicated section for bulky items that can be repurposed. We partner with local transfer stations to efficiently move materials that cannot be processed on-site. These agreements reduce haul distances and lower emissions associated with disposal. Local transfer station cooperation is central to maintaining a low-carbon footprint.

We work closely with several local transfer stations and material recovery facilities (MRFs), scheduling regular collections so green waste goes to compost sites and recyclable timber and plastics go to certified processors. Key items handled include:

• Garden pruning and green waste for aerobic composting
• Clean wood and branches for chipping and reuse
• Plastic pots, trays and plant labels for recycling where accepted
• Metal tools and fixtures directed to metal recycling streams

Partnerships with charities and community groups are a major part of our circular strategy. We collaborate with reuse charities and local not-for-profits to redirect usable items — such as plant pots, bench timber and surplus soil — to community projects. Through these partnerships we support local food growing initiatives, habitat restoration and training programmes that emphasize sustainable gardening practices. Our charity partners help ensure items are reused, not trashed.

To further reduce carbon emissions we operate a fleet of low-carbon vans for collections and transfers. Our fleet includes electric vans and plug-in hybrids, with routes optimised to minimise mileage. Vehicle charging is scheduled during off-peak hours to take advantage of lower grid carbon intensity. This low-emission logistics strategy is a practical response to the wider push for greener delivery and waste removal services in London boroughs.

Inside the site, our composting and mulching areas form the heart of the sustainable rubbish gardening area. We turn collected green matter into quality compost and mulch which is then reused across community beds and offered to local gardeners. This closed-loop model reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and keeps valuable organic carbon in the soil. Recycling garden waste on-site is both climate-smart and economically sensible.

Education and signage play a crucial role in making our eco-friendly waste disposal area effective. Clear instructions in multiple languages, pictorial labels and volunteer-led demonstrations help residents and tradespeople sort materials correctly. We run periodic drop-in days that explain borough waste separation schemes and illustrate why separating food waste, dry recycling and garden materials matters for meeting our 75% recycling goal.

Operational transparency is important to us. We publish regular summaries of tonnage diverted from landfill, compost produced and items donated to charity. These summaries show progress toward the recycling percentage target and highlight reductions in vehicle miles and fuel use thanks to our investment in low-carbon vans. Transparency builds trust and encourages others to replicate the sustainable rubbish gardening area model.

Long-term resilience requires continual improvement. We are testing additional measures such as anaerobic digestion for high-moisture garden and food mixtures and pilot projects to recycle polystyrene plant packaging where local MRFs accept it. In collaboration with borough waste teams and local environmental charities, we seek to expand reuse networks so fewer items enter the residual waste stream.

Gardeners Seven Kings invites neighbours, allotment groups and local contractors to join our effort to make the area a regional leader in sustainable gardening waste management. By combining borough-style separation, strategic transfer station use, charity partnerships and a low-carbon vehicle fleet, we are creating a practical, replicable example of an eco-friendly waste disposal area that supports both the environment and the community.