Not only will a garden shredder reduce the amount of garden waste that you have, but the shredded material it produces is so useful in a garden. Even better, garden shredders are extremely easy to use – here’s how:
Gather Your Material
It’s always easiest and safest to gather up the waste that you want to shred before turning your garden shredder on. This is also the time to double check the type of waste that your garden shredder can handle – some may only take in green waste, while others do better with thicker and harder materials. Feeding unsuitable materials into your garden shredder could cause a blockage, or even do some serious damage to the machine.
Prepare Your Garden Shredder & Turn it On
If your garden shredder comes with a waste collection box, fit this into the machine before turning it on. Alternatively, find a bucket or another suitable container to collect your shredded material in.
Make sure that the area around your garden shredder isn’t too cluttered, and have protective gloves, eye goggles, and ear defenders to hand, just in case you need them.
You’re now ready to turn your garden shredder on!
Feeding Material Through Your Garden Shredder
Just about every garden shredder will have a feeding chute – this is where you insert your garden waste.
On some shredders, the blades will already be rotating and there’ll be a mechanism that automatically pulls the material through. On others, the blades will only start cutting once they come into contact with the material, which you’ll have to physically push through. While it’s often easiest to use your hands to do this, most garden shredders will come with a plastic plunger, which is useful when dealing with sharp and thorny materials.
Always go at a pace that suits your shredder to prevent overloading it. If possible, alternate between different types of material – this helps to prevent blockages.
Removing Shredded Material
Once your collection container is full, turn your shredder off. Remove the container and dispose of the shredded material (there are a few different things that you could do with it), before inserting the container back into place and turning your garden shredder back on.
Once you’re done shredding, unplug your garden shredder and store it somewhere dry and protected.
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