Every time the grass is cut, a lot of grass clippings are generated, and these usually end up in bags in the trash. There are many things you can do with grass clippings that are more useful than throwing them away. Learn how to dispose of grass clippings properly.
Recycling grass clippings is an excellent way to contribute to the environment by not generating more waste. I have been recycling grass clippings from my home for several years now and have taught many family members and friends how to recycle properly. Read on to learn more about how to dispose of grass clippings.
Table of Contents
How to Dispose of Grass Clippings
2015 research found that Americans produced 34.7 million tons of yard trash, with grass clippings making up roughly half of that amount. The amount of grass bagged and discarded was 17 million tons.
There are many ways to dispose of grass clippings and give them a new use. For example, they can be made into a liquid fertilizer or used as mulch. Below, I will explain all the things you can do with grass clippings.
Leaving Grass Clippings on The Lawn
Grass clippings contain nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. You can leave small grass clippings on the lawn to fertilize the new grass that will grow after mowing.
Grass clippings will also help conserve moisture during the hotter months when the grass turns browner from the summer heat.
Where you observe more extensive grass clippings, you can separate them for use in other things that I will tell you about shortly. Leaving large grass clippings on the lawn could cause yellow grass spots.
Mulching With Grass Clippings
Some cities often give away mulch for people to use in their yards, but you can also make your mulch from grass clippings without having to go elsewhere for mulch.
Mulching grass clippings will conserve moisture for your plants and prevent weeds from growing. Do not build layers thicker than 2” (5 cm) to avoid fermentation of the grass clippings.
You can use the larger grass clippings for mulching and leave the smaller grass clippings for other things.
Grass Clippings Composting
Grass clippings are rich in nitrogen and decompose very quickly. You can combine grass clippings in your compost bin to generate compost and then use it in the garden. Combine grass clippings with dry leaves. The ratio should be 1:1 for the grass clippings to decompose properly.
The microorganisms in the compost need more carbon than nitrogen, so it is best to mix grass clippings and dry leaves. Every few days, stir the grass clippings in the compost bin so that they decompose uniformly. Learn more about how to make a worm composting bin.
Nitrogen-Rich Fertilizer with Grass Clippings
As grass clippings contain a lot of nitrogen, you can easily prepare a liquid fertilizer rich in nitrogen. This is an excellent way to dispose of grass clippings.
In a 5-gallon (20 liters) bucket, place 1/3 of the capacity with grass clippings and then fill with water. Cover the bucket with a mesh to prevent mosquitoes from growing, and place it in a well-ventilated area (it will smell bad).
After two weeks, you will have an excellent nitrogen-rich fertilizer for your plants, and best of all, it was made from grass clippings. Use this fertilizer every 2 to 4 weeks on your plants. You can add 16 oz (500 ml) of the fertilizer to your watering can and then fill it with water and water the plants.
This is another excellent way to dispose of grass clippings. You will save money and contribute to the environment. I have used this fertilizer with grass clippings on my plants and have had great success. Learn more about how to fertilize lawns.
Grass Clippings Animal Feed
Another great way to dispose of grass clippings is to use the grass clippings as animal feed. Sheep, goats, cows, and other farmyard animals will happily feed on grass clippings.
Never use grass clippings on which a pesticide or herbicide was used. Only feed clean grass clippings to animals.
If you don’t have animals that feed on grass clippings, you can consult your neighbors and friends, or even if there are farmers near your home, they will indeed accept your grass clippings.
Lasagna Garden with Grass Clippings
Lasagna gardening is a non-traditional way of creating a garden that uses a raised, layered base instead of a traditional garden. These gardens are ideal for sites where the soil is poor in nutrients or very sandy soils.
You should place a layer of cardboard where you want to place your lasagna garden and then wet the cardboard well so that it begins to decompose. Then, alternate between different layers of dry leaves, newspaper, and peat moss. You will also place the grass clippings. The thickness of the brown and green layers should be 2:1, respectively.
You can use your grass clippings and other organic waste to build your lasagna garden. In an article from the University of Michigan, they explain the benefits of the lasagna garden.
Utilize Yard Waste Collection Services
If you already have a lot of grass clippings at home, you can use town hall or city hall yard waste containers to dispose of grass clippings. Some town hall charges a small fee for using these services.
Contact your town hall waste collection center to see if your township has this service to dispose of grass clippings.
Deposit Your Grass Clippings at The Local Disposal Site
You can also take grass clippings to your local disposal site. For example, in my city, they accept organic waste, and you can take it every day to the local yard waste landfill.
In my city, they charge a few dollars to dispose of grass clippings or organic yard waste. I usually don’t transport grass clippings because I use them or give them to a friend who has several goats.
Final Conclusions
Now you know different ways to dispose of grass clippings. The best thing to do is always to recycle as much of your grass clippings as possible to help the environment.
I hope this article on how to dispose of grass clippings will be helpful and you will be able to put your grass clippings to good use. I recommend this article about how to plant grass seeds on hard dirt.
