Grass clippings and mulched leaves can provide valuable nutrients for your lawn. Image: addisongreen.info
With spring coming around, Addison residents are dusting off those lawnmowers and leaf blowers and getting ready for some serious yard work. Before you get started, consider a different kind of strategy for dealing with the waste some of those activities produce.
If you’ve been accustomed to raking and bagging fallen tree leaves or grass clippings, here’s another solution: Those very same items can be valuable nutrients for a healthy lawn, so mulch them and leave them there, or try composting them. Not only will you provide a natural fertilizer, but you’ll save money, time and energy, both for yourself and the community.
Bagging grass clippings, tree leaves and other yard waste is becoming an environmental no-no. Pickup services cost more in taxes and service fees, and those bags take up valuable landfill space.
Disposing of those clippings through a storm drain isn’t a viable solution, either. The drain may become clogged and cause flooding. That waste also can end up in creeks, streams, rivers and lakes, where it can kill fish by using too much oxyge. Fertilizers, meanwhile, can wash down a storm drain and do further harm to aquatic life.
This spring, consider a new approach to yard work: Leave it a lawn. By making use of yard waste, you can do your bit for the environment and help improve your own bottom line as well!
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Tags: grass clippings, mulching leaves, storm drains, storm water runoff
