The Butterfly Garden
In the back corner of most sheds lie a pile of unused plastic flowerpots, seed trays and containers, all gathering dust. Until now, most of these items were dispatched to landfill.
However, the students of the Butterfly Garden have just launched a dedicated ‘Horticultural Plastic Recycling Scheme’. With guidance from the County Council, Environment Agency and Printwaste they recently secured Waste Management and Carriers Licences, and established an ethical route for recycling mixed horticultural plastics. The plastic they can accept for recycling includes:
- flower pots and container pots
- ornamental containers
- old watering cans
- cell trays and plug trays
- plant strips
- liners
- compost bags
Visitors can drop items into the sign-written wheeled bins situated in the adjacent garden centre. It is sorted and graded by the students, before being reused onsite or sent on for purposeful recycling. The students are made up of children and adults with learning difficulties or behavioural problems who are acquiring gardening and land skills. The Butterfly Garden project is supported by a group of volunteers and is part of THRIVE, the Horticultural therapy charity.
The project is also happy to redistribute any of these items to local schools or community projects. Please contact the Project Manager, Chris Evans on 01452 713068 or 07821 415195 or visit their website www.thebutterflygarden.org
The Butterfly Garden is situated on Bamfurlong Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 6SL
Please note - because of the hygiene issues, the scheme doesn’t accept any ‘domestic’ plastic* such as food trays and yogurt pots.
*If you live in Tewkesbury Borough you can recycle these items in your blue bin