Why Does it Matter?
After all of our spring rain in central Indiana, you might be starting to feel like you are living in a jungle this June. As a result, you may be spending more time in the yard mowing, weeding, gardening and the like. But what do you do with the cut grass, weeds, trimmings and leaves? You might be interested to know that yard waste makes up about twelve percent of the total waste stream. Why does that matter? Most landfills will not accept grass clippings or leaves and these materials will rot on their own and make wonderful compost that you can use in your flower beds and vegetable gardens.Fortunately, Mother Nature is great at cleaning up her own messes. If left alone, yard waste will recycle itself into soil without any help from us. But, you can help to create less waste going to the landfill if you help things along just a little bit by composting or GrassCycling. Trust us, it’s easy!
What Should You Do?
All you need is a place to put your compost pile, some green material, brown material, moisture and the sun. First, uncover the bare soil—this will allow natural flora and fauna to help the process along. Next, add some green material like grass clippings. On top of your greens, add some browns (things like dried leaves or dead grass). Then, continue to alternate brown and green layers on your pile. Keep the pile moist and turn it occasionally if you would like to get compost faster. Or, you can leave it alone and just let it do it’s thing. You can’t mess it up. The result will be dark and rich compost to add to your garden and flowerbeds.The easiest way to deal with grass clippings is by leaving them lay—it’s called GrassCycling. All you need to do is let the clippings fall as they may, don’t catch and bag them. You should only cut a third of the length of the grass blade at a time. Then, just sit back and relax—Mother Nature will do the rest!
Dig Deeper.
If composting and GrassCycling are not your cup of tea, you can recycle your yard waste at either of the District’s Yard Waste Recycling Centers:
Brownsburg – 90 Mardale Dr, 858-8231 Open: Tuesday, Friday & Saturday, 7am to 5pm
Plainfield – 7020 S. County Rd 825 E, 838-9332 Open: Monday, Friday & Saturday, 7am to 5pm
The centers accept brush, leaves, grass clippings and other organic waste from Hendricks County residents for a small fee. The material deposited at the centers is recycled into mulch. More info is available at our website.
