Grasscycling

What is Grasscycling?
Grasscycling means leaving your mowed grass on the lawn, allowing it to works its way back into the soil. The benefits of grasscycling include:

• less garbage going to our landfills
• less time and energy bagging clippings
• a healthier lawn

Why Grasscycle?
Grasscycling is an easy way to reduce the amount of garbage going to our landfills. The North Okanagan, like other regional districts in the province, is committed to reducing our garbage. To help reduce our garbage we must practice the three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle. This includes composting and grasscycling.

Organics (kitchen and yard waste including grass clippings) make up approximately 35% of the garbage that we send to landfills every year. Through composting and grasscycling we can significantly reduce our household garbage.

Grasscycling is easy, just remember these simple tips:

• Keep your lawn at least 6cm (2 1/2 inches) long. The longer your grass, the healthier the root system, which is protected from heat and water loss.
• Mow as often as needed. This may involve more frequent cutting in mid-summer and less cutting in the late summer and fall. Unless a densely grown lawn is frequently cut, grass clippings will take longer to reach the soil and decompose.
• Adjust the blade of your lawnmower to keep your lawn at 6cm and make sure your blade is sharp. Clippings should be less than 2 1/2cm (1 inch) for faster decomposition.
• You can buy a mulching attachment for you lawnmower which will result in finer grass clippings. Smaller clippings will decompose within a couple of days.
• Mow late in the day. This will prevent the newly cut grass from burning as well as give the clippings a chance to settle overnight.
• Mow grass when it is dry - it will distribute more evenly over the lawn and break down faster.

Compost
Grasscycling, where cut grass decomposes on your lawn, is actually a method of composting. It is the simplest and most effective way to dispose of grass clippings. While the compost pile may not always be the best destination for grass clippings, it can be added to your compost to supplement nitrogen and carbon balances.
Note: do not add grass clippings that have been treated with weed killer to your compost pile.

All organic material is composed of carbon and nitrogen and an effective balance of the two is essential for effective composting. A ratio of 30 parts "brown" material (carbon) to 1 part "green" material (nitrogen) will result in the quickest breakdown of organic material.

When adding grass to your compost pile, do so in moderation. Since fresh grass clippings have a high water content, they will pack down and become slimy if heaped in one large pile. Always be sure to layer grass clippings with dry materials such as leaves or straw, or let your cut grass dry on the lawn before adding it to your compost pile.

Unless you have a large compost bin and plenty of carbon-rich material to add with your grass clippings, you simply can not compost all of your cut grass. In fact, most backyard bins can only manage 1/4 of a garbage bag of grass per week.

Did you know?

• The average home generates 60 garbage bags of grass over the summer.
• By grasscycling you can reduce the amount of time you spend on your lawn by 35%!
• Grass clippings decompose quickly - usually within 2-3 days because they are made up of 85% water.
• Grass clippings supplement the nutrients in your lawn as they decompose, adding nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• Grass clippings protect your lawn's root system from heat and water loss.
• By grasscycling, you save precious landfill space and save money on disposal costs of extra "garbage" bags.
• Grasscycling does NOT contribute to thatch buildup.
• Kitchen and yard waste make up a big portion of our household garbage. Over the year, 34% of what we throw away is made up of grass clippings, leaves, fruit, and vegetable scraps.
• Grasscycling saves water - grass clippings left on your lawn reduce water loss through evaporation.
• Dried grass clippings can be used as a protective cover for gardens and shrubs, to reduce water loss and control weed growth.

For more information on waste reduction tips such as recycling, grasscycling and composting contact the Regional District of North Okanagan.