Yard Waste

Grass Clippings - Mulch Mow and Grasscycle!

Grasscycling will save you time and money. No waste to bag up and it provides free, natural fertilizer for your lawn. Simply mulch mow and leave the grass clippings on the lawn to promote a greener, healthier yard. Any lawnmower can be used, but mulching lawnmowers cut the grass into smaller pieces and help them from clumping together and being tracked into a home or business. The grass clippings, which contain about 90% water, dry and decompose quickly, adding valuable nutrients back into the lawn.

Reasons to Grasscycle

  • Reduces labor for bagging, hauling, and disposing of grass clippings.
  • Helps reduce worker injuries related to heavy lifting.
  • Allows worms to do their job, recycling clippings naturally and improving soil quality.
  • Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers by up to 50% and the cost of maintaining lawn health.
  • Improves water retention and reduces fertilizer and sediment run-off.

Fall Leaves - What To Do With Them

  1. Love them and leave them. Rake leaves into your flower beds to use as free mulch. They will insulate your plants and tree roots from the cold weather and provide vital habitat for birds, frogs and beneficial pollinator insects.
  2. Like grass clippings, fall leaves can also be mulched into the lawn.
    Mow over them a few times to break into smaller pieces and leave them on your lawn to decay naturally. Free natural fertilizer!
  3. Add leaves to your compost pile and use the humus you make in your garden or plant beds to save money and return vital nutrients back to the soil.
  4. Bag any extra leaves in clear plastic bags and place on the curbline to be picked up by Waste Management on your regularly scheduled trash pickup day.

Street Sweepers and Leaves

Street sweepers are designed to pick up dirt and debris using a gutter broom. During the fall, they also assist in picking up the leaves that fall naturally onto the street. They are not equipped to remove a large amount of leaves, such as those raked or blown intentionally from a yard into the street.

Leaves Will Clog Storm Drains

Trees and other vegetation next to streams which drop their leaves into and around the stream, are OK, but as with many things in life, too much can be a bad thing.

Leaves clog stormwater pipes and cause street flooding. Too much decomposing organic waste also adds excess nutrients to our streams, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay, causing algal blooms that can be harmful to pets and humans. As algae dies, it uses the available oxygen in the water which can cause fish kills. Keep piles of leaves from your yard out of the curbline, gutter and any storm drains in front of your house.

Remember, only rain down the storm drain!