Backyard Composting

Backyard Composting is Easy!

Composting is nature's own recycling system. Leaves, grass, and other organic matter that fall to the ground provide a home and food supply for nature's recycler's--bacteria, worms, and other microorganisms. These organisms feed on the plant material, breaking them down, and turning them into a dark, nutrient rich product called Compost.

Compost .....
   • improves plant nutrition
   • holds moisture in sandy soil
   • improves compacted soil
   • extends the useful life of our landfills

Compost Rules and Guidelines-PLEASE READ Compost piles must be contained in an enclosed bin. Please avoid using wood structures. Wood is an attractive home for rodents. Sources for compost bins: - www.composters.com Over 100 different types of bins at various prices - Retail stores such as Bordine’s, Smith & Hawkin, most lawn and garden centers - Hardware stores for materials such as chicken wire - Check here for information on how to build your own wire-mesh holding unit Improper compost piles may be ordered to be removed if they cause odor, pest/rodent nuisances or are not in a proper bin. Following the guidelines below on how to build and maintain your pile will help to avoid this. Please avoid composting any food items. Again, not properly composting food items can also cause potential problems.

MATERIALS TO COMPOST:

Tree leaves, sod, grass clippings, hay, straw, weeds, chopped corn stalk or cobs, sawdust, shredded newspaper, wood ashes, hedge clippings, and many kinds of plant refuse from the garden.

Do NOT Add to Compost:

Any food items, raw or cooked (to avoid pest & odor problems)
Diseased plants
Weeds gone to seed
Charcoal ashes or briquets

HOW IS IT DONE?

Recipe to Build a Pile

+50% Brown Materials (leaves, hay or straw, dead plants; carbon source)
+25% Green materials (grass clippings)
+25% Soil or compost soil contains microorganism that help to break down materials)
= 100% of a compost pile

Start with a layer of brush or branches Add layers of leaves, grass clippings, and soil, then repeat As you build the pile, dampen layers with water. Keep the pile as damp as a wrung out sponge. Turn pile from time to time. Could be once a week, or once a month depending on how much you want to do it.

Turning your Pile
One of the keys to a successful compost pile to turn the pile from time to time. This helps your pile in a couple of ways:

• Speeds up decomposition
• Can help to alleviate some odors

Turning everyday could be detrimental causing all the heat in the center of the pile to escape. Instead, try turning once week and see how that works.

Using the Finished Product

Finished compost can be used in the following ways:

Add to your garden in the spring or fall. Turn the garden soil and apply a 1-3 inch layer of compost.

Compost can be mixed with either garden soil or potting soil in a 50-50 ratio to use for container gardening. The compost adds nutrients and texture to encourage plant growth.

Compost can also be used as a mulch. Spread compost around any garden plants, under bushes, and around trees. For young plants, a 2-3 inch layer of compost often works well. Mulching helps hold in moisture, reduces weeds, and gradually feeds organic matter to the soil and plant roots. Compost is especially useful as mulch in the hottest, driestperiods of the summer.

The Dept of Public Services has more information sheets on compost. Call 246-3300 for yours today.

Grasscycling or Mulching

Let those grass clippings fall where they may!

Composting sound like too much work? What about bagging clippings during each mow? Grasscycling may be the solution for you!

Letting the grass clippings simply stay on the lawn has proven beneficial in several ways:

1. Saves you time and effort
2. Reduces the need for fertilizer
3. Saves you money
4. Protects the environment

The most common myth about grass cycling is that clippings DO NOT cause thatch. Clippings are 85% water and therefore break back down quite easily into your lawn. Thatch is the remains of the woody portions of the grass plants and is often the result of over-fertilizing and excessive watering.

CHOOSING A LAWNMOWER

It is possible that the mower you now own may be used for mulching. Always take to a local dealer to make sure. If the machine is not properly designed, hazards could arise such as flying sticks and stones that could seriously injure you and those around you.

A mulching blade or an adapter hit may be available for your mower for a reasonable cost (under $60 dollars).

Mulching blades differ from regular blades by the longer cutting edge, a feature which allows it to "cut & recut" the grass blades and then redirect the clippings to the lawn, rather than to a bag.

For more information, contact the Public Services Department, 246-3300, or your local lawnmower dealer.

Christmas Tree Collection

City of Royal Oak - Christmas Trees will be collected curbside for recycling starting December 26, 2012 - January 13, 2012. Collection will occur on your regular trash day by a private contractor. Please place tree at the curb by 7:00am without decorations, lights, stands, and plastic bags.

Between 1/13/2012 and 3/31/2012 residents may dispose of trees at the SOCRRA facility located at 995 Coolidge Hwy.

Oakland County Parks and Recreation, in partnership with Bordine's Nursery Ltd. - the Plant Place, makes holiday cleanup easy and “green” with Christmas Tree Recycling at 11 park locations.

There is no charge to drop off trees. All decorations, plastic, tinsel and wire must be removed. Large quantities from commercial lots will not be accepted.

Dec. 26 - Jan. 16, 2012
Free Self-Serve Christmas Tree Recycling, seven days, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Addison Oaks near Oxford; Catalpa Oaks in Southfield; Glen Oaks in Farmington Hills; Groveland Oaks near Holly; Independence Oaks near Clarkston; Lyon Oaks in Lyon Township; Orion Oaks in Orion Township; Red Oaks in Madison Heights; Springfield Oaks in Davisburg; Waterford Oaks in Waterford; and White Lake Oaks in White Lake Township.

Dec. 26 - Jan. 30, 2012
Free Self-Serve Christmas Tree Recycling, seven days, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Independence Oaks (Pine Grove parking lot) and Orion Oaks (Clarkston Rd. parking lot) only.

 

The parks system processes trees to make compost and wood chips, which will be available to the public in 2012, free of charge. For more information, contact 248-858-0906. For more information, contact 248-858-0906 or visit DestinationOakland.com.

YardWaste Guide

Please call SOCRRA at 248-288-5150 for more information.

What is Yard Waste?
Yard Waste includes: grass clippings, leaves, spent flowers & garden plants, weeds, pine needles, pine cones, acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, apples, Halloween pumpkins, vines, twigs, branches and other woody material up to 2" in diameter. (Put woody yard waste between two inch (2") and five inches (5") in diameter with regular refuse. Refer to brush clipping guidelines.)

How do I prepare yard waste for collection?
Yard waste may be placed in 32-gallon trash cans, clearly labeled with a “yard waste” decal, and facing the street so it can be easily spotted for pickup. Free Yard waste decals are available at the DPS office on Campbell Rd and at City Hall. Yard waste may also be placed in a 30-gallon paper yard waste bag, available at most hardware stores. Containers and bags cannot weigh more than 50 pounds each. Plastic bags are NOT acceptable.

Why must I separate these items?
Yard waste is banned from disposal in Michigan landfills. SOCRRA converts yard waste into compost, a useful nutrient rich soil amendment.

What about brush and branches larger than twigs?
Refer to brush clipping guidelines or below under “What is woody material?".

Is yard waste collected year-round?
No, weekly curbside collection is provided from April through mid-December.

What if I have yard waste when collection isn’t provided?
Royal Oak residents can bring up to 10 yard waste bags per day to the SOCRRA Transfer Station at 995 Coolidge in Troy at no charge from mid-December through March. No plastic bags. Please call SOCRRA at 248-288-5150 for more information.

Acceptable Containers: 20 to 32 gallon trash cans with a "yard waste" bumper sticker decal, or paper landscape bags (no decal on bags). Plastic bags are not allowed.

Yard Waste Will Not Be Picked Up If: It is in an unacceptable container. It has regular trash mixed in or woody material larger than 2" in diameter. It weighs over 50 lbs or is a container larger than 32 gallons. It is in a plastic bag. Plastic bags can no longer be used at any time for any yard waste. Once the problem is corrected, set yard waste at the curb for collection on your next pick-up/collection day.

Additional Recycling Program Information can be found at SOCRRA: www.socrra.org

Pick-up Starts April 1 - Pay Tags are no longer needed - Ends Mid-December Mark Your Calendars for Yard Waste Pickup! Yard waste pick-up starts April 1st. Spring Clean Up Decal needed for can, free at municipal buildings. Decal MUST face the street. No plastic bags. Put yard waste in acceptable containers: either brown paper bag or 32 gallon container with decal. Yard waste must be out by 7 a.m. Do not mix trash with yard waste or it will left at the curb. Yard waste pick-up ends mid Dec. Fall Clean Up Continue to put yard waste in acceptable containers. No plastic bags. Yard Waste Pick-up ends mid  December. Yard Waste in a limited amount (10 bags per day) may be taken to SOCRRA at no charge from mid-December through March. Yard waste in plastic bags will not be accepted at SOCRRA. For leaves, use the City's Leaf Vacuum Program. Call 248-246-3300, press 5, then 1, for more information. Or check the City's website, WROK, or Insight Newsletter. Yard waste pay tags are no longer needed.

What is woody material?
Residents must keep woody materials larger than 2" in diameter out of their separated yard waste. Woody materials do not decompose as fast as grass, leaves and the other "soft" materials and must be screened out of finished compost and landfilled, adding unnecessary costs to the program.

What is it? - Woody materials include: Tree branches, woody shrubs, bushes, and hedges.

How do I dispose of it? Put woody material between 2" and 5" in diameter with the regular refuse and set at curb on trash day. Tie brush securely into bundles up to 4' long X 15" diameter, not weighing more than 40 pounds, and set at curb. Logs over 5" in diameter must be cut to 2 foot lengths or less, put into bundles weighing less than 40 pounds, and set at curb.

To have brush between 1"-6" in diameter and between 4'-12' lengths chipped at the curb, call a private contractor or the City's recommended contractor for details and costs. The City's recommended contractor is:

J H Hart
586-795-5581

How to Reduce Yard Waste

Grasscycling (Let clippings fall):

Use a mulching mower or retrofit your current mower with a mulching blade kit and let clips fall back into the lawn.

• Adds nitrogen from clippings to the soil
• Cuts fertilizer use by 30% or more.

Cut only 1/3 of grass blade at a time to promote root growth and shade out weeds. Deep roots help plants resist
drought and disease.

Other Options

• Add low-maintenance plant beds and groundcovers, slow-growth bushes, decks, walkways and borders to your yard to reduce lawn area.
• Use Shredded leaves and grass clippings as mulches to control weeds, conserve moisture and reduce soil erosion:
  
  • place 1" to 2" layer on wet newspaper between vegetable/flower rows
  • sprinkle 1" layer around bushes, tree base
  • work into garden soil
• Add shredded leaves and grass to your compost pile.
• Shred leaves into lawn with mulching mower; adds nutrients and does not hurt the lawn.

Home Composting Transform your yard waste into humus-rich compost. Use compost in the garden, with potted plants, as a topdressing for lawns, or as mulch around trees and shrubs.
Compost Benefits Improves soil structure Encourages root growth Aerates & adds nutrients to the soil Ideal Ratio 50% Leaves (carbon) 25% Grass (nitrogen) 25% Soil + Water
For free fact sheets on grasscycling, composting, and other yard waste reduction and healthy lawn and garden tips, call or write: SOCRRA, 3910 W. Webster Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073 (248) 288-5150. Questions? Call (248)246-3300. You can also check here for information on Backyard Composting. Thank You!