Landscape Waste Prevention

Public Agency Landscape Management Practices

Waste-Efficient Landscape Maintenance

Landscape sites at public agency facilities and institutions can be maintained in an environmentally sound and cost effective manner by using responsible landscape management practices that reduce green waste generation, reuse yard and shrub trimmings on site, and recycle organic products (mulch and compost) back into the landscape. These management practices include:

1. Controlled Irrigation. Water just enough to maintain plant health and appearance.
2. Precise Fertilization Usage. Only apply precise amounts of necessary plant nutrients.
3. Grasscycling. The natural practice of leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing.
4. Selective Pruning. Use techniques that result in less green waste and healthier plants.
5. On-site Composting and Mulching. Use site-generated trimmings as feedstock.
6. Proper Organic Materials Application. Use products derived from urban green waste.
7. Environmentally Beneficial Design. Install low maintenance, drought tolerant plants and waste-efficient landscape design features to reduce yard trimmings.

Benefits of the "Three Rs" in Landscape Management. Practices that reduce green waste generation produce significant economic and environmental benefits. Direct savings can be realized by reduced maintenance, labor, water and fertilizer cost. Indirect cost benefits include reduced hauling expenses as well as disposal fees and less exposure to workman’s comp claims due to crew injury from lifting heavy loads. On-site management of yard trimmings returns valuable, high-quality nutrients and organic matter to the soil. This encourages healthier, disease and pest resistant plants that improve appearance, prevent erosion and increase property values.

Using recycled organic materials in landscapes enhances soil fertility and water holding capacity, slows evaporation losses, increases plant drought tolerance, conserves water, and also suppresses the spread of wild fires. Using the environmentally beneficial landscape maintenance practices outlined above will reduce fertilizer and water usage, which in turn reduces toxic runoff that can lead to surface and groundwater pollution.

Case Study. Fountain Circle on the west side of California’s state capitol was selected as a demonstration project for grasscycling. This was a cooperative effort among the CIWMB, Department of General Services (DGS), the Office of Buildings and Grounds (OBG), and the Toro Company, which supplied the mulching mower. This initial demonstration was so well received that DGS/OBG is now converting its entire fleet to grasscycling mowers. 

Results of grasscycling demo at State Capitol grounds:

• Mowing time reduced by over 50 percent.
• Bagging and disposal cost eliminated.
• Over 300 pounds of grass clippings per 1000 square feet recycled annually.
• Nitrogen content of recycled clippings reduced fertilization requirements by 25 percent.
• Similar savings in water usage noted.

Last updated: April 01, 2008