Green Gutter Guilt

How 4 minutes of your time can keep our lakes and rivers cleaner.

Summer is lawn-mowing season and well-maintained suburban lawn is great. Manicured lawns however are not necessarily environmentally friendly. Fertilizers and pesticides can get into our water systems, grass clippings that are bagged often end up in landfills, irrigation systems use up a lot of water, however those are issues for another day.

Every week I mow the lawn, I am ashamed to admit that I hope for a little wind so the clippings will blow away and I wouldn’t have to clean up the curb gutters. I know – that is a very non-environmentalist thing to do and I have to tell you that I do get Green Gutter Guilt every time I leave grass clippings on my driveway and curb gutters.

According to PlantTalk Colorado, “…grass clippings and leaves that fall on hard surfaces release their phosphorous into water sources. Research studies indicate that 80 percent of the phosphorous from urban settings comes from lawn clippings and leaves that end up in street gutters. While a few grass clippings mowed into the street look rather innocent, collectively they have a major impact on our water quality. Using a mulching lawn mower to keep lawn clippings on your lawn is especially useful.”

Is the time I save by not sweeping the gutters worth the guilt? I decided to time how long it takes me to put the clippings back on my lawn, using my new cordless electric leaf blower (a broom would work too). I have a big yard, on a corner lot, and a wide driveway, so there is quite a bit of area to clean up.

From start to finish, it took about 4 minutes. Yup – 4 minutes once a week, and I can help reduce phosphorous in our water sources. Wind or no wind, I’m going to commit to this final step when I mow. If every homeowner does that, we can make a significant impact on our environment.

Next time you mow, take 4 minutes to put the grass clippings back on your lawn, and help keep our lakes and rivers clean.