Olly Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 hope this isn't in breach of the forum guidelines - wondered if anyone can recommend a not-too-expensive garden shredder, or is it true that the cheap ones are not worthwhile? My garden is well-planted (by a previous owner) with lovely shrubs, but there is a lot of pruning. The council take away green waste, but only if it's in their bags, so I spend a lot of time cutting twigs etc into bite-sized pieces. I've seen shredders for about £80, but are they a waste of money? I can't really afford the £150+ that the well-known makes are priced at. I'd be grateful for any views please, as my hands are getting sore and the secateurs are wearing out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 What about hiring one http://www.hss.com/g/62812/Garden_Shredder_Electric.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N&J Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 I had the same problem with twigs and a garden shredder seemed like the thing to get. The reality of garden shredders are that they are very noisy and don't really do a good job. A colleague has just got a brand new one and he now agrees with me. I sold mine aftre a few attempts and now i just had a burn up every few months using an garden incinerator from B&Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 well, that's more or less confirmed what I was guessing at - although thanks for the suggestion of hiring, Deb, maybe I could pick one weekend at the beginning and end of the season and have a mass shredding session! At least the council take it away, it just means a lot of jumping on/chopping up, but it must be good for me! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Sorry I couldn't be more help We are quite lucky we have a huge green wheelie bin that the council collect every 2 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 WE have a wheelie bin collection every fortnight too but with lots of mature shrubs, trees, etc we have no problem filling it several times over in a week during the height of the growing/pruning season. For this reason we purchased a shredder and have found it invaluable. It makes lovely woody chips to use as a mulch and/or put in your eglu run Mr Red reckons we can get about 10 times as much in our wheelie bin when the garden waste has been shredded first Obviously, not all waste is suitable for shredding - it's not usually worth the bother with soft prunings or bendy stuff like Ivy. Ours is a Bosch (can't remember the model no.) but the key is that it has a quiet (relatively speaking) and efficient cutting mechanism compared to some others. Ours has an auger mechanism (a type of coil/screw) that pulls the waste through cutting it quietly and not harshly like some others. I can't recall how much we paid but it was not cheap although, for us, worth every penny. We have had it for at least 2 years now and are very happy with it - so don't dismiss them altogether but I have to confess you get what you pay for with shredders. (We borrowed a cheaper one before we bought ours and it was PANTS! and you needed ear defenders!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 4, 2007 Author Share Posted April 4, 2007 That is really helpful, Red - thanks - guess I need to make a policy decision, I've got a large garden and I moved here last November and I am not planning to move again in a hurry! so it might be a good investment, it's helpful to know about the augur mechanism. I hadn't thought about making my own woodchip for the run - now that would be useful and I could mulch the borders with it, too. Think I need to empty the piggy-bank and see what I can find down the back of the sofa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Our Council will come along and shred the waste for you. Last time I looked, it was a free service. You can either keep the waste to use as mulch or they take it away and sell it on. It might be worth checking your Council? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
