Recycling: Leaves and Lawns

New Ways to Reduce Waste

Are you signed up for residential curbside greenwaste recycling? If not, call 543-0875 to sign up today. There is something else you can do this week to help, and it will save you time and money! Many people prefer to recycle their greenwaste into their own yards; improving the health of their soil and plants. Lawn trimmings and leaves are the easiest items to recycle; right within your own yard. It all begins with how you gather them up.

First, rake any undesirable leaves out of the surrounding planters and onto the lawn, then pick them up with the lawnmower while you trim your lawn. What you wind up with is a mixture of shredded leaves and lawn trimmings that is nearly ideal for composting. If you are missing one of the ingredients, you may use the remaining ingredient for most of the recycling activities that we will discuss.

What to do next is listed in order of simplicity and ease:

1. Pile the shredded mixture in a corner of the yard, and watch the pile quickly shrink as it loses moisture, and is broken down. The pile will shrink to about half its size in just a few days. You shouldn’t have a problem with wind blowing the pile, because the jagged edges of the shredded material will help lock it together.

2. Spread the mixture over your planters as a surface mulch. It will shade your soil from the sun, reducing water loss from evaporation. This mulch will act as a rich fertilizer, too. We now know that a well fertilized lawn can produce trimmings that are nearly as rich in nutrients as poultry manure.

3. Purchase a mulching mower or a mulching kit for your mower. It will chop your leaves and grass; returning the mixture to the lawn in such fine pieces that they will hardly be noticed. This is called grasscycling. The condition of your lawn will improve, and you will have to water and fertilize it less. It will not cause thatch or disease. If you have a yard maintenance person, encourage him/her to grasscycle. It will save time and money that would otherwise be spent bagging and disposing the waste.

4. Compost it! It’s a little more time consuming, but with proper care, you can produce a fine compost for your garden that is rich with nutrients and other benefits.

5. Shovel it into your garden soil. Earthworms and other “critters” will break it down and improve the quality of your soil. Always be careful of frequent use of “and feed” type fertilizers on your lawn. Excessive amounts of garden chemicals are not good for your soil, your garden, or the ground water.

Whether you choose to shovel it into your garden soil, pile it, or compost it, you may bury chopped or shredded kitchen’ vegetable scraps into the mixture (no meat or meat byproducts, citrus rinds, ash, or manure from meat eating animals).

Remember, you can make a difference, and spend less time doing it!

For more information, phone the Utilities Conservation Office at 781-7213.