If you're pruning your hedges or getting rid of fallen branches, garden waste can quickly build up, filling that brown bin in no time at all.
Find yourself stowing away bags of garden waste in your shed while waiting for the brown bin to empty, or keeping an unsightly pile in your garden until the weather dries up enough for a bonfire? There is another solution - a garden shredder.
What is a garden shredder?
Whether you're composting or looking for an effortless disposal method, the main use of garden shredders and chippers is to reduce garden waste. A garden shredder is essentially a gardening tool that cuts down on garden maintenance time. The shredder works to break down the excess material in the garden, especially the larger, peskier items like twigs and branches.
Electric vs petrol garden shredders
Most people will find that an electric garden shredder does everything they need it to do, and it is the preferred option for most gardeners.
The only instance you might opt for a petrol garden shredder is if you have a large garden where you need to manoeuvre your shredding machine away from an electrical power source.
• Electric wood chippers produce no smoke from petrol fumes so are more environmentally friendly, plus they're quieter, making them more user friendly.
• With electric garden shredders, you're limited to where you have access to a mains supply.
• Petrol shredders are more powerful - with greater throughput rates and durability, plus they're more flexible as you don't have to rely on mains power.
• Petrol shredders do use petrol through, so they're a less green option.
Read more: Small garden trees to plant in the UK
The best garden shredders
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The best garden shredders
1 of 5Bosch Garden Shredder AXT Rapid 2200
The Bosch rapid shredder is a fast and powerful shredder, ideal for green, soft material. Powered by a high speed 2200 W Bosch power drive motor, it enables high material throughput. With its laser-cut precision blade, made from specially hardened steel, it provides high cutting performance of green or woody garden debris.Specs:• 40 mm high precision laser-cut, twin edged blade.• 2-year warranty.Review: "I recently raised the canopies of several conifers, and I bought this shredder to deal with all the branches I removed: 3 big piles of them. Within about 2 hours, it turned a pile of branches like the first picture into a pile of chippings. Handled branches up to the 45mm limit, and easy to clear when it jams. Big basket to catch the chippings, easy to remove and empty. First time I've used it but so far so good."
2 of 5Mac Allister Garden shredder/Chipper
The Mac Allister shredder features an interlock mechanism that prevents accidental starts, allowing safe access and handling. The shredder only works when the collection box has been inserted and a quiet operation is assured thanks to the blade drum system.Specs:• 100kg/hr Material Throughput• Shreds Branches up to 45mm Dia.• 2800W.• 2 Year Manufacturer's Guarantee (T&Cs Apply).Review: "I bought this for my mother and set it up for her. Showed her how it works and she's delighted with it. Reasonable value for money and easy to use."
3 of 5Einhell Electric Shredder
The Einhell electric shredder is a reliable tool for the speedy shredding of material. The large funnel opening means it is convenient to use and makes it easy to feed in the material you want to shred. The funnel has a safety interlock and can be swung down for cleaning and maintenance. There is also a motor circuit breaker for protection against overloading. An integrated transport handle makes manoeuvring the machine even easier. Specs:• Two long-lasting, robust reversible blades.• A powerful 2,500 W motor. • No-load speed of 4,500 rpm. • Four branches up to 40 mm in diameter.Review: "Assembly is very easy. It's light and doesn't take up much room in the shed. As long as you are sensible with the wood you feed into it, it seems happy to work all day. It reduced a big pile of twigs, branches and hedge into a wheelie bin, which has saved me trying to making numerous trips to the tip in my car. Highly recommended!"
4 of 5Makita UD2500/2 Electric Shredder
With an easy-to-use control panel and an automatic anti-block system, the Makita shredder ticks all boxes. It has a powerful yet quiet motor and can be transported at ease thanks to the large rubberized wheels.Specs:• Powerful 2,500 W motor• 40rpm cutting speed• Quiet cut and crush systemReview: "Used it today for the first time. Made quick work of all the prunings that I had. Managed branches up to 40mm. Got stuck once but auto-reverse removed the blockage. Most impressed."
5 of 5Titan Garden Shredder
The Titan-Pro 7hp Petrol shredder is a very durable machine with a large brush hopper and safety cover designed for leaves and small branches up to 10mm diameter. The side chute is designed for thicker branches up to 50mm. Specs: • Full UK warranty and spares backup service. • Complete with handy tool kit, gloves and goggles/ear defenders.• Overload protection system.Review: "This machine is solidly made and quite powerful. It has taken everything I have reasonably asked of it and performed very well. The ear defenders supplied are needed when working close to the machine. I have also found it quite economical on fuel and easy to start. I am very pleased with this unit and have done a lot of work with it."
How to use a garden shredder
Any garden shredder or chipper should be equipped with an overload protection switch. This safety feature means that if the machine is blocked, the machine will automatically stop to protect the machine from burning out.
When using a garden shredder, make sure to wear thick gloves. Some machines will also come with a prodder that you can use to help feed material into the shredder.
These thick leather gloves are perfect for protecting your hands while managing hedge trimmings and branches and feeding them into your garden shredder.
Read more: 16 of the best gardening gloves for spring
These large garden waste bags will make transporting branches before and after processing much easier.
If your garden shredder is noisy, using ear defenders while it's in use will help to protect your ears.
How does a garden shredder work?
Garden shredders work in one of two ways - either they have spinning cutting blades that chomp through the material (much like a food processor). These are called impact or rapid shredders. Impact garden shredders are typically lightweight and manoeuvrable.
The main advantage of impact shredders is that they are able to cope with green sappy material such as leaves and hedge cuttings. However, they can be a bit noisy and there's some maintenance involved in that you will need to replace blunt cutting blades. Look out for impact shredders with 'reversible' blades' i.e. blades that you can turn round to give a fresh cutting edge, and so prolong the life of your machine.
Then there are quiet electric shredders, which produce lower decibels and are self-feeding; perfect for branches and twiggy, woody material. Quiet electric shredders use either a cutting drum or spiral cutting mechanism.
In the former, a revolving metal cog draws in branches and crushes them against a plate. The spiral cutting system replaces the cog with a screw-type tool slicing and grinding material.
Both styles are very efficient and as there are no sharp blades to go blunt, so maintenance costs are reduced.
Quiet electric garden shredders also produce a better compostable substance as they not only shred but also crush. One disadvantage of a quiet roller shredder is that it may become clogged if you use a material that is too sappy and 'green'. Look out for one with a 'reverse action' to help clear blockages.
Can you shred cardboard and paper in a garden shredder?
Most garden chippers will be able to deal with cardboard and paper quite well, unless you have a low powered electric chipper.
Remove any plastic tape etc, then roll your card up into a big cardboard log. Feed this into the chipper and you have shredded card in a flash!
It's a quick solution that will not only save space in your recycling bin but can also be added to your compost bin, along with your garden chippings.
How to dispose of garden shredder waste
Once you've shredded your garden waste, either pop it in your garden bin to be collected, or you could use it in your own garden for:
Mulching
Woody waste makes an excellent, long-lasting mulch for paths and borders or even for using on top of your flowerbeds to discourage weeds and keep plants in good condition. Making your own also saves on the costs of buying it.
Composting
If you plan to compost shredded woody materials, they will need to be mixed with nitrogen-rich materials such as lawn mowings to increase their decomposition rate. It will take typically three to four years for woody chippings to break down into crumbly compost. Shreddings with a larger proportion of greener/younger wood may reduce the time required. Once well-rotted, it can be dug into the soil to improve its structure.
Do I need a garden shredder?
In the below video, vlogger The Middle-Sized Garden explains whether your best option is to compost, bonfire or take to the recycling centre - depending on the size of your plot.
Disposing of garden waste and clippings takes time, effort (and usually money, too). Find out how a garden shredder can help, plus tips on choosing a garden shredder.