Recycle in the Landscape

Fun Landscape Recycling

The photos in this post are some creative and fun ways to recycle in your landscape.

Other Ways to Recycle

Landscape maintenance activities — mowing, pruning, raking — generate yard waste that you can return to the soil, recycling valuable nutrients. It is easy to recycle yard waste. Try a few of these simple ideas to get started.

Compost or mulch with yard wastes to reduce the amount of solid waste to be hauled away. Florida Statutes prohibits disposing of yard trash in landfills.

Leaves and pine needles provide a source of mulch that is a real asset in the landscape, and it is virtually free! If your yard generates more leaf mulch than you can use, compost the material or share some with a neighbor.

After pruning trees and shrubs, toss small cuttings into a compost pile or behind a shrub.

Never dump grass clippings or other yard waste into storm drains or waterways. Such activities are illegal and can pollute water systems and clog drains. Grass clippings are a significant source of nitrogen, so keep them on the lawn and out of the water.

Deciduous trees reduce energy costs by shading a house in summer and, after leaves fall, by allowing sunshine to heat a house in winter. Many new Floridians avoid having deciduous trees in their yards because they believe that fallen leaves require raking. If you desire high-quality turf under trees, then you should rake leaves to improve light penetration to the turf. If you do not want turf, permit leaves to remain under trees to form a self mulching area. Leaves add nutrients to soil as they decompose. If aesthetics are an issue, plant shrubs under trees to avoid raking. They will benefit from decomposing plant litter and help to hold leaves in place so they won’t clutter the landscape.


Composting
A common misconception about plant care is that plants require fertilizer. Plants need nutrients, but they might not need added fertilizer. That is because as organic matter decomposes, nutrients are released into the soil in a form that plants can take up. Some key nutrients for plants include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron and manganese.


A great way to supply some of these key nutrients to plants while recycling yard waste is by adding compost, which you can make from yard or kitchen waste. As compost decomposes in soil, it releases essential nutrients. Add generous amounts of composted material frequently to soil and it can create the perfect medium for sustained plant health.