Leaves
Shredded leaves and dried grass clippings are good mulches for annual vegetable and flower gardens. Shredding leaves with a rotary lawn mower or home shredder will accelerate the composting process and quickly reduce their volume when space for composting is limited.

Leaves should be shredded and allowed to degrade slightly. Dried grass clippings should be applied less than one-inch think to prevent matting.

Please compost your leaves and recycle your yard waste.

Grass Clippings
Grass clippings can account for up to 50% of your solid waste during the growing season. Please consider the advantages of not bagging your grass clippings. If they are not composted or used as mulch, leave them on the lawn where they will help improve the soil.

Each bag of grass clippings is equivalent to 1/4-pound of useable nitrogen. During dry spells, clippings left on the lawn help retain moisture in the soil. Please recycle your grass clippings back into your lawn.

To maintain your lawn properly:

Cut when the grass is dry
Mow when it is 3-4 inches tall
NEVER cut it shorter than 2 inches
Use a sharp mower blade
Avoid over fertilizing your lawn
Fact: Grass Clippings do NOT contribute to thatch. Grass clippings are almost 80% moisture and decompose quickly.

New Solid Waste Laws in Missouri focus on the need to REDUCE the volume of waste generated. An important area in which we can reduce waste is in our own back yard.

Gardening practices that can be used to reduce yard waste include leaving grass clippings on the lawn, mulching and composting.