By Mary Harrington
The City of Atlanta collects over 30,000 tons of yard and garden debris (such as leaves, grass, and branches) each year from residential curbside customers. Yard debris collected by city trucks is taken to a central site where a private contractor chips it. Once the material is chipped it becomes the property of the contractor who then sends it to either be burned for energy recovery or to a commercial composting operation.
Keeping this valuable resource at home by leaving grass cuttings on the lawn or turning leaves and grass into compost or mulch is better for your property, your bank account, and the environment. Recent research has shown that leaving grass clippings on the lawn is beneficial for the roots. If you prefer to collect the grass clippings, consider turning them into compost or mulch by mixing the grass cuttings with leaves in a home composting pile.
Composting grass and leaves at home is an easy and inexpensive way to add nutrients to home gardens, bushes, and trees. By keeping this valuable resource at home, you’ll save money by not having to purchase lawn disposal bags and lawn treatment programs and you won’t need to water as often so your water bill will be lower.
If you don’t want to wait for leaves and grass to turn into compost, use the blend as mulch around trees and bushes and as a topical dressing on flowerbeds. This will keep the roots cool, improve soil moisture retention, and as the mulch breaks down it will slowly provide nutrients for the plants, bushes and trees.
Follow these links to find out more about composting and mulching techniques: georgiaorganics.com or southface.org.
