Introduction to Garden Shredders

Garden shredders perform a vital role in the ecological disposal of garden waste. The days when you could throw everything on a bonfire and burn it are long gone, but large or woody items of waste such as tree branches and hedge trimmings are difficult to compost. A garden waste shredder chops that larger, woodier waste into small, more easily compostable chips, which achieves two important objectives.

First of all the volume of waste is reduced, and more importantly the fine chippings break down much more quickly and so can be either composted or used as a mulch. In either case you are returning nutrients to the soil and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers – and garden shredder technology continues to evolve with innovative developments such as the “Chopping Principle™” technology incorporated into the Eliet shredder range continuing to improve energy efficiency to further reduce environmental impact.

Types of Garden Shredders

There are several different styles of garden shredder. A wood shredder intended to shred larger branches requires a lot of power and so will likely be powered by a petrol engine. However a heavy duty garden shredder can also be electrically powered, and manual shredders are also available if you want to keep energy usage to a minimum.

The dual functionality of a chipper/shredder combination unit allows you to easily deal with all kinds of green waste and turn it into a useful product that is beneficial to the garden.

Features of Garden Shredders

A garden waste shredder uses rotating blades to shred your green waste into small pieces. This shredded waste is then generally deposited into a collection bag or other kind of container for easy disposal or composting. 

Modern garden shredders are very safe, with emergency cutoff switches and sturdy guards to keep the blades away from anything other than waste, and to ensure that the chippings cannot cause damage or injury as they are ejected.

Benefits of Using Garden Shredders

Garden shredders are incredibly easy to use. You simply feed the material to be shredded into the top of a hopper and the shredder guides the material through the blades, ejecting the shredded waste into an appropriate receptacle. Once shredded, your garden waste is transformed from an unsightly problem to an environmentally advantageous product. Your shredded garden waste will break down much more quickly than unshredded material. This makes it perfect as a mulch, helping to protect your garden from drought and slowly returning nutrients to the soil. Because it breaks down more easily your shredded material can also be composted very efficiently.

Tips for Maintaining Garden Shredders

If you find a garden shredder for sale, you should consider the maintenance that it will require. It is important to clean and lubricate your garden shredder after every use. If you just use your shredder and put it away a layer of sap, green material and grime will build up on the blades making your garden shredder less effective. You should also check the condition of the shredding blades regularly and ensure that all safety guards and other safety features are operating correctly before each use.

It is also important to get your garden shredder serviced by a competent professional on whatever schedule is suggested by the manufacturer to ensure efficient and safe operation.

FAQs

How do garden shredders help in waste management?

When they invest in a garden shredder, UK gardeners gain a number of advantages in garden waste management. The finely shredded material that is produced can be composted or used as a mulch, recycling nutrients back into the soil, but even if the gardener has no need of mulch or compost the shredded material take up a significantly smaller volume making disposal of green waste easier and more sustainable.

Should I choose a petrol or electric garden shredder?

If you have a large quantity of sizeable, woody waste or you will be operating away from an external power source you may find that the extra power and independent capability of a petrol garden shredder. For most users an electric garden shredder will be more than capable of meeting your shredding needs.

What types of materials can garden shredders process?

Depending on the model, garden shredders can process any kind of garden waste from leaves and weeds to large woody branches. Obviously larger waste needs to be handled by a larger garden shredder, so think carefully about the type of green waste you are likely to be dealing with when looking at garden shredders for sale.

Are garden shredders easy to use?

Most garden shredders are incredibly easy to use. Essentially, you turn the garden shredder on, feed the material to be processed in the hopper at the top, and collect the shredded material at the bottom. Nothing could be simpler.

Can garden shredders handle large branches?

Garden shredders can handle very large branches so long as the shredder is big enough. You should consider the size of the material you are likely to have to process when you choose your garden waste shredder so that you get one that is big enough to meet your shredding needs.