How do you get rid of large garden waste ?

Just wondering, for those with big gardens, how do you get rid of your garden waste ? I don't have transport, so yesterday after cutting down a huge amount of hedges/shrubs, the choices I have for getting rid of waste is either : burning the flammable stuff (hedges, trees etc.) or hiring a shredder (cost €50 or €60, then either scatter down end of garden or put in bin) & for grasses, putting it into the bin. I've a 70ft by 40ft garden.

Today the bin men wouldn't take my bin coz I'd put some brambles & grass in it, so now I'll have to bag it before putting it out again.
I'd tried composting before, but the amount of waste I produce far outweighs the rate of compost (which didn't really work truth be told) & I don't fancy having the end of the garden as a dumping ground, as the last time I created a dump I started getting rats about the place.

Is there any sign of Dublin City council providing garden waste collection facilities ? Even if they did a collection 4 times a year it would help a lot, I could time my prunings around it

The EU requires that an increasing proportion of biodegradable waste is diverted from landfill, so most local authorities are going to bring in some sort of collection for compostable material (the target is kitchen compostable material ie veg peelings etc). This may not be suitable for the larger stuff you refer too.
It is an offence to cause air pollution (smoke) which could cause a nuisance to other people, so in an urban are, burning garden cuttings is pretty much out.
You say you have no transport, so bringing the material to a green waste centre is out then.
Contact the council, private companies may collect (at a price).
I would try composting again. in a garden your size you should have no difficulty using the compost. The woody material i would shred and use as a mulch, (people buy bark mulch for their garden).

One man's expensive waste is another's raw material, then?

I'm in the process of hacking back some unruly Leylandia (in an urban setting), so am very interested in this thread. I used to lob excess garden waste over the wall into the wasteland/building site next door, but development has now advanced to such a stage where they pay guys in Jeeps to drive up and tell me I can't do that kind of thing no more... (but they made an exception for the Christmas tree, God Bless them!)

lukegriffen, you talk about Dublin City Council. Surely it's not allowed to just burn stuff any more?

Yes, you're right, burning is not allowed. Putting garden waste in wheelie bins is also not allowed. But at the moment I don't have spare cash, so I'm reluctant to hiring a shredder. So which is the lesser of 2 evils ?

Hi,
FYI, I know you're in Dublin without transport !- I'm based in Limerick area, I use the recycling depots (Kilmallock or Newcastlewest)- not the rubbish dumps - they will take every type of re-cycleable waste inc. tree clippings (also building debris / car batteries / scrap metal glass cardboard ect. ) cost is €2.00 per car, €5.00 per car trailer, I consider it excellent value for money.

Some of the skip hire companies claim to recycle the majority of the waste that people put in their skips, so hiring a skip might be one (expensive) way of recycling your garden waste.

Mind you, I'd like to see justification for their recycling claims, as all I found before was a statement on a website claiming this.

Have you considered burning it? Before anyone jumps on me about the hazards of backyard burning ... I am not advocating burning domestic rubbish ... Farmers burn ditches to clear them. You will be getting rid of disease/viruses that the shrubbery may have.
If you allow the shrubbery to dry out for a couple of weeks it should be much easier to burn.
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on this subject

isnt there anywhere you can take your garden waste, and household rubbish, council run recycling plants, my husband was in the UK a licensed waste carrier for his landscaping business, they recycle garden waste, there was tipping fee, I know, just wondered?

lukegriffen said:

Yes, you're right, burning is not allowed. Putting garden waste in wheelie bins is also not allowed. But at the moment I don't have spare cash, so I'm reluctant to hiring a shredder. So which is the lesser of 2 evils ?

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I never knew you couldn't put garden waste in the wheelie bin. I do it all the time. Sometimes I put in a black bag and other times (like this week) I just fling it in to the bin and have bits of trees sticking out!! I better topple it all in to a black sack just in case! It's next to impossible to clear garden waste. A big branch broke off one of my trees and I've no idea how I'm going to dispose of it and all the other garden waste I managed to accumulate during a tidy up at the weekend.