10 Reasons to Quit Bagging Grass Clippings

10 Reasons to Quit Bagging Grass Clippings
Yard waste accounts for 20% of our landfills.

By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Tue Jun 16 14:00:00 EDT 2009

People are just so gosh-darn proud of their lawns. Lawn-lovers are often seen cavorting about on their grass, mowing it, weeding it, measuring it. That's cool. A lawn is the public face of the home. Therefore, those who would like to impress their neighbors may do it via their immaculate and super-kempt lawn.

There is nothing wrong with yearning for lawn-perfection. However, those who long for impeccable lawns may take to bagging up their grass clippings and sending them off to the old landfill. That is not cool.

Here are ten reasons why:

10 Reasons to Quit Bagging Grass Clippings

Grass clippings lock in moisture, a good thing for your lawn and hence a good reason to leave grass clippings on your lawn.

Bagging grass clippings is banned in many states. You may be breaking the law.

Grass clippings can provide the lawn with 25% of its fertilizer needs in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Yard waste accounts for 20% of local landfill size.

Bagging grass clippings takes time, a lot of it. Quit it, and you'll have 38% percent more time to read blogs.

Grass clippings reduce erosion.

You'll save money by not buying bags. You'll save money by reducing the amount of fertilizer you'll need. You will also save money on water and waste pick-up.

Most agricultural experts agree that leaving the clippings on the lawn is better for the grass than bagging it.

Grass clippings are made of 90% moisture. They break apart rather quickly and do not lead to thatch build-up.

Grass clippings can be used as fertilizer in your garden. The guy who cuts my grass (at my request) uses a mulching mower that has two sets of blades that double-cut the clippings and allow the tiny clippings to fall back into my lawn. I do use my neighbors bagged lawn clippings, leaves, etc., tho, in my compost heap.