4 minute read
PA Resources Council offers ideas to reduce yard waste in the landfills
Leave it, compost it or drop it
Reduce landfilled yard waste with these disposal options
By Sarah Alessio Shea
It’s summertime, so you probably spend a good number of hours cutting grass, trimming trees and doing yard work.
After you’ve finished, you’re often left with a variety of organic materials such as grass clippings, weeds, twigs and brush.
How can you dispose of this “yard waste” in an environmentally friendly way to avoid throwing it into garbage cans and landfills?
Yard trimmings, food scraps and other organics make up about 34% of municipal waste landfilled in Pennsylvania.
South Fayette Township and other communities provide seasonal curbside collection for yard waste, and state law requires many municipalities to collect these materials for composting twice a year.
While these spring and fall collections are a great service, you probably do yard work far more than twice a year.
So what the heck are you supposed to do with this stuff the other 50 weekends?
Seeing organic materials in plastic bags at the curb can make you cringe. It’s hard to imagine that somewhere along the line people thought that the smart thing to do was to take natural materials and encapsulate them in something that barely breaks down and then throw them into a hole in the ground.
Instead, you can follow this strategy to handle your yard waste: Don’t throw it away.
A much better plan is to leave it, compost it or drop it off.
Your own yard
• Let grass clippings lie on your grass. There is no need to collect them, and they make excellent compost.
• Leave the clippings on your lawn as long as they are not forming a mat, or thatch. There are multiple ways to de-thatch your yard if needed.
Your backyard compost bin
• Grass clippings, sticks and twigs, dried leaves and other material ensure that your compost pile works properly.
• Brown materials add bulk, assist with air circulation and serve as a source of carbon in your compost pile. Green materials are high in nitrogen and primarily consist of wet or recently growing materials.
• Chop or shred woody material before adding it to the pile to make it easier for composting critters to chomp in. Extra browns (especially for folks with big trees in the yard) can be easily stored under a tarp or in an old trash can for composting throughout the season. Some browns (like pine cones and twigs) can be beneficial to the pile by creating more air pockets. The presence of oxygen is the number one factor in how quickly the materials become finished compost.
A local drop-off
• South Fayette Township residents may drop off wood waste (limbs up to 4 inches in diameter) at the Public Works facility, 515 Millers Run Road, South Fayette PA 15064, in the Morgan neighborhood. Residents must call Public Works in advance: 412-221-8700 ext. 223. This solution includes a controlled-access area with weekday operating hours from 7 AM to 3:30 PM. Details: southfayettepa.com/woodwaste.
• Take materials to a processor such as Michael Brothers Hauling & Recycling—michaelbrothershauling.com—or wood waste recycling—woodwasterecycling.com.
Further Resources
Expand your waste reduction efforts by turning yard waste and food scraps into compost, a valuable resource for your garden.
Learn to compost by attending a backyard composting workshop, either in person or online. Class options include instruction plus an 82-gallon compost bin, or instruction only. Details: prc.org/composting.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection offers resources for composting and yard waste reduction at dep.pa.gov.
