PDF: "Landscape for Less to Landfill"
Reducing waste starts with not generating it in the first place. Selecting the right plants for the place, as well as watering and fertilizing judiciously are important ways to reduce the 110,000 tons of plant debris landfilled in Alameda County annually.
Reusing plant trimmings as mulch, grassscycling, and using compost improves soils, creates healthier landscapes and in addition, keeps materials out of local landfills.
Material use is an important factor in the landscape. Using recycled content, salvaged, durable or local materials conserves resources and can reduce the amount of embodied energy that is consumed by the landscape.
The Materials Database lists products, suppliers and service providers that correspond with our Green Building and Bay-Friendly Landscaping Guidelines and has been developed in collaboration with industry professionals. The Database is regularly updated to reflect the local availability of materials, development of new materials, and other newly available information.
Landscaping for less to the landfill will help you create a beautiful, relatively trouble free landscape that yields years of benefits for you, your client and the San Francisco Bay.
"People are focused on how the landscape looks right after planting. This means that shrubs are planted so tightly that they can't reach maturity or flower and this leads to higher maintenance costs."
--George Pacheco, Owner/President, Pacheco Brothers Gardening, Hayward
Some practices that you can implement to Landscape for less to the landfill include:
- Selecting appropriate plants.
- Grasscycling.
- Producing mulch from plant debris.
- Composting plant debris.
- Pruning selectively and properly.
- Watering and fertilizing judiciously.
- Using goats for controlling weeds and creating firebreaks.
- Using salvaged items and recycled content materials.
- Reducing and recycling construction waste.
- Separating plant debris for clean green discounts.
1. Selecting appropriate plants
A. Choose plants to match the microclimates and soil conditions. Selecting the right plants is linked to understanding the site-specific conditions of the landscape. It is the foundation of environmentally sound landscaping and thus an important practice for meeting many of the other principles of Bay-Friendly landscaping.
Plants are more likely to thrive, which reduces their susceptibility to disease and other pests and their need for fertilizers and pesticides. Callbacks and replacement plantings are often reduced. Plant debris is not generated in the first place.
Starting with California native plant species, particularly those found in local plant communities and placing them to match the site microclimate and soil conditions is an important method for selecting appropriate plants.
B. Choose plants that can grow to their natural size in the space allotted them. Selecting a plant or plants to grow in too small a space starts a lifelong battle with the plant's genetics, thereby inviting disease and insects, generating unnecessary waste or increasing the fuel load.
Labor, fuel and waste are likely to be reduced, cutting your costs. Plant health and resistance to disease is fostered.
C. Replace sheared hedges with plants that can grow to their natural shape and size. Shearing is a horticulturally unsound practice that is labor intensive, encourages excessive new growth that can lead to unhealthy plants and increases waste. What's more, sheared hedges and screens have lots of deadwood under the dense green crown because of the lack of light reaching into the hedge. This dieback in the center of the plant increases its flammability.
Your cost for the labor to regularly shear the hedges is lowered and at the same time, fuel load can be decreased, waste will likely be reduced and your disposal bills lowered.
D. Do not plant invasive species. Invasive plants used in landscaping often escape into our natural areas, where they can spread rapidly and out-compete natives, degrade wildlife habitat and increase the fuel load. Avoid these invasive plant species that are particular problems for the Bay area.
The cost of later pulling these species out of the landscape, neighboring sites and wild lands is avoided. Waste is reduced and ecosystem diversity is protected.
Looking for more information?
Check these pages to learn more about invasive plant species:
2. Keep Plant Debris On Site
A. Grasscycle
Grasscycling...
means leaving the clippings on the lawn after mowing, so they decompose and release their nutrients into the soil. It reduces green waste, saves time and money, and contributes to a vigorous lawn.
Look for details on how to grasscycle in:
B. Produce mulch from plant debris
Plant debris left on the soil or chipped and then spread evenly over the surface of the soil nurtures soil organisms, and recycles organic matter and nutrients. It can save your crews time that they don't spend hauling material to the landfill or transfer station, as well as your operation money not spent on tipping fees. For an example of how one local landscaping service creates mulch from the plant debris they generate in A
Case Study: Mulch.
You can also learn more about using mulch on site by downloading or ordering:
A Landscaper's Guide to Mulch C. Compost plant debrisComposting is the controlled decomposition of organic material. It turns plant debris into a beneficial soil amendment. Composting on-site returns organic matter to the soil & reduces pollution associated with transporting waste, as well as disposal costs. Encourage your clients to
purchase a compost bin at a subsidized rate from the Bay-Friendly Gardening program and offer to manage it for them. You and your staff can become experts in managing on-site composting systems by enrolling in the
Master Composter Training program.
Looking for more information?
3. Prune selectively and properly
Pruning should complement the natural form and strengthen the structural integrity of the plant. It should not be used to dominate plants. The labor for this type of pruning is not a cost well spent; it never ends, weakens the plant and generates unnecessary plant debris. Properly pruned trees and shrubs are stronger and more likely to resist pests.
4. Water and fertilize judiciously
Watering and fertilizing wisely prevents rampant plant growth that weakens the plants and generates plant debris. Water damage to fences and hardscapes is minimized.
5. Use goats for controlling weeds and creating firebreaks
Goat will eat many weeds that are otherwise very difficult to control-like poison oak, for example. They can work in areas that are too steep for human crews, don't start fires with sparks, do not require fossil fuels to get the job done and reduce fuel load in a short period of time. The costs of renting a herd may be lower than the costs of the labor for weeding and disposing of the plant debris.
Looking for more information? Learn more about using goats from:
www.goatsrus.com or
Dr. An Peischel, Goats Unlimited, P.O. Box 29, Rackerby, CA 95972, 530-679-1420
6. Use salvaged items & recycled content materials
Salvaged materials are not remanufactured between uses. Finding and using salvaged materials in the landscape takes time and ingenuity but in the long urn, salvaging conserves resources, can save money and adds interesting elements to the design. Recycled content materials such as plastic or composite lumber make very durable decks or raised garden beds that do not rot, crack or splinter.
The Green Building and Bay-Friendly Materials database offers sources for recycled content and sustainable building materials.
7. Reduce and recycle construction waste Recycling and donating unused items reduces pressure on landfills, saves money by reducing tipping fees and provides raw materials for future projects. Ask nursery(s) where plant materials are purchased if they will accept used containers for reuse or recycling. Donations may be tax deductible.
Looking for more information? To find or offer salvaged materials visit California Integrated Waste Management Board's CalMax website at: www.ciwmb.ca.gov/CalMAX/
You can also check the StopWaste.Org's Recycling Wizard for more information about how and where to recycle construction waste.
8. Separate plant debris for clean green discounts
Our local landfills and transfer stations offer a discount (except Pleasanton) for disposing of plant debris if it is kept separate from other types of waste. This material is processed into mulch or compost.
Check the ACWMA Recycling Wizard to learn more about taking advantage of clean green discounts in Alameda County.
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