Lawn waste

Lawn Debris

Biology 111D

Ron Troast, Kristin Paxton, Jennifer Riemersma, John DeYoung, Jason Van Ryn, Maggie McCoy

Introduction:

"Landscape refuse…accounts for up to 20% of the wastes being placed in landfills" (http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/c816-w.html)

While composting is an attractive alternative, many still neglect doing so, which contributes to the landfill problem.

Benefits of Suggestion:

Used as fertilizer

Controls soil erosion

Enhances plant growth

Used as a mulch

Economical and environmentally sound way to dispose of yard waste

Minimize amount of landscape refuse in landfills

Bans on burning and laws limiting dumping into landfills

Alternatives:
In General:

Backyard composting

Cities/towns provide composting areas

At Calvin:

Low Tech, High Return:

-Organized piles with correct mixture of grass clippings, wood chips, and ground brush (30%)

-Add finished compost material (10%) to introduce microorganisms and speed up decomposition process.

-Usable product after 90 days, turning once a week

Purchase composting Bins

Continue dumping into piles

Other Colleges:

Hope: "Dump in a box and haul to landfill"

Grand Valley: Use land waste to create a hill at the end of a parking lot

Aquinas: "Let it go back to nature"

At Calvin:

1500 hours per season spent on landscaping/mowing/cleanup

-400 hours spent on leaf cleanup

Current method: Dumping in field by East Paris.

Current costs:

-Cost of labor to remove

-Cost of maintenance and fuel for removal equipment

Assessment and Suggestions:

Everything in place to introduce Low Tech, High Return composting system:

-Land space

-Appropriate kinds, amounts, and combinations of waste

-Machinery and labor

-Low, if any, additional cost

Incorporate food waste as well
Where does it go?