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Contra Costa Lawnmower Race Event
The following is a press release announcing a lawnmowing race as part of the Contra Costa County campaign.
Grasscycle!
Clip Your Waste
Facts about Grass Waste
- Yard trimmings make up the largest single component of California's municipal waste. In 1990, a drought year, this amounted to approximately six million tons, or 15 percent of the waste stream. It is estimated that grass clippings make up about half of all yard trimmings over the course of the year. * From California Integrated Waste Management Board
- The average California lawn generates 300 to 400 pounds of grass clippings per 1000 square feet annually. This can be as much as eight tons per acre each year! * From California Integrated Waste Management Board
- The nitrogen contained in grass clippings almost equals the recommended application rate for healthy turf (5 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year). While some of this nitrogen is lost through the decomposition of the clippings, grasscycling can have the overall impact of reducing fertilization requirements by 25 percent or more. * From California Integrated Waste Management Board
- Mowing time can be reduced by 50 percent or more since the bagging and disposal of clippings is eliminated. Cost savings can even be realized in hidden ways. By not handling heavy bags of clippings, back injuries and other physical maladies can be avoided--a real savings on workman's compensation for landscape maintenance contractors! * From California Integrated Waste Management Board
Facts about Air Pollution and Garden Equipment
- Lawn and Garden equipment generates an estimated 9 tons of air pollution every day in the Bay Area. * Estimates from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 1998
- New electric mowers reduce pollution from conventional gasoline lawnmowers by over 90%. * Estimates from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 1998
- A typical two-stroke lawnmower engine run for an hour generates as much pollution as driving a car for 50 miles! * Estimates from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 1998
- Refueling of lawn and garden equipment results in the spilling of 17 million gallons of fuel each year (more spillage than from the Exxon Valdez accident). *From "Mow Down Air Pollution", Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
tab 6/03/99
