‘Get rid of your green waste bin and let leaves rot into the soil,’ says garden expert

Healthy soils can hold up to eight times more water than more depleted soils, according to Sheila Das of the Royal Horticultural Society. Photograph: Eva Nemeth

Get rid of your green waste bin if you want to make your soil more healthy and save money, a Royal Horticultural Society expert has said.

Sheila Das, a garden manager at the charity’s Wisley site, removed her garden waste bin “some years ago” in order to recycle nutrients into her garden soil, she told the RHS spring conference. She said: “I thought, why am I sending my stuff away? This [the grass cuttings and plant trimmings] is gold dust!”