Friday, October 26, 2007

How Low Should You Mow

Is your lawn service maintaining your lawn at a height that maximizes the efficiency of your water use, minimizes your fertilizer and pesticide use, and guarantees your lawn is being managed in the most sustainable way possible? Many homeowners are unaware that by cutting their grass too low or too high, they can actually contribute to environmental degradation. Choose a lawn service company that works with homeowners to manage their lawns in the most environmentally sustainable and socially responsible way.
The height to mow your lawn to is determined by the type of grass you have, your soil conditions and the climate in which you live. Keeping your grass at the appropriate height reduces the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and water your need to use to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful. It is recommended that your lawn care franchises provide you a lawn service that mows your lawn to between 2 and 3 inches high (as previously mentioned, this varies by the variety of grass you have). Not only does this height reduce the weed growth because taller grass chokes weeds out, it also decreases how much water your lawn needs. Root length is directly proportional to the height of the blade of grass; longer roots mean an increased access to water because water near the soil surface evaporates quicker than that at further down, thus roots have increased access to water at a variety of depths. Short grass also allows the soil to be more exposed which increases water loss and erosion. Keeping your grass 2 to 3 inches long improves your water conservation (vital in the drier climates where some of our lawn care franchises operate) and lessens the pesticides necessary to keep your weeds under control.
It is also important that your grass is not allowed to grow too long or be mowed too high. When too much time passes between mows by your lawn service, the grass can be traumatized and be weakened thereby decreasing the lawn’s overall health. When grass is mowed with a blade height greater than 3 inches, the grass tends to lay down creating an uneven and unappealing look.
Ultimately it comes back to species of grass you choose to use in your lawn. Choosing a native grass means that you’ll increase your likelihood of having a healthy lawn that requires minimal maintenance. This minimal maintenance translates as less watering and less fertilizer because native grasses are most suited the local climate and soils. As a result, you are one step closer to having a sustainable lawn. It’s also important to use a low-impact lawn service, that use electric equipment that is powered by renewable energy, works with local organic lawn treatment companies, and ensures that all grass clippings are recycled and composted.

About the Author: Kelly Giard is an owner and founder of Clean Air Lawn Care, a lawn service provider utilizing clean energy in place of heavily polluting small gas engines. For more information about Clean Air Lawn Care’s opportunities franchise, please visit www.cleanairlawncare.com.

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Friday, October 12, 2007

21 Things You Can Recycle

1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill. org,
or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them.
800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle- steel.org.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions,
734/467-9110, www.batteryrecyclin g.com.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women's shelters to
see if they Boxcan use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your
local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may
need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least
100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes. com accepts them for
resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs,
and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for
refinishing, and they'll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech. com.

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or
shelter. ShirtsDonate wearable women's business clothing to Dress for
Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs,
212/532-1922, www.dressforsuccess .org. Offer unwearable clothes and
towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often
use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your
office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes
with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and
back-to-school clothes.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store
for recycling: www.ikea.com.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won't be able to compost
these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to
take them to at www.findacomposter. com.

8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers,
local and national, at www.ban.org/ pledge/Locations .html.

9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness. com.

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion's Club or eye care chai n may collect
these. Lenses Glassesare reground and given to people in need.

11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept
foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers
Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off
foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging
Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging. org/info. html

12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace. com pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people
who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or
Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or
giving or selling them at iReuse.com. iReuse.com will also help you
find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of
their useful lifecycle.

14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000,
www.recycleoil. org.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your
phone and sell Cellphoneit to someone in a developing country:
770/856-9021, www.collectivegood. com. Call to Protect reprograms cell
phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims:
www.donateaphone. com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere,
814/386-2927, www.reclamere. com.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again
Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainspor ts.com.

17. "Technotrash" : Easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs,
audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and
single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk's
Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box
in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your
fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees.
800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk. com.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into
playground and athletic flooring. www.nikereuseashoe. com. One World
Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa,
Latin America, and Haiti. www.oneworldrunning .com.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or
razor from ToothbrushRecycline , and the company will take it back to
be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made
from used Stonyfield Farms' yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline. com.

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley
Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot
197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call
866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can't recycle: When practical, send such items
back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture
products that close the waste loop responsibly.

About the Author: Kelly Giard is an owner and founder of Clean Air Lawn Care, a lawn service provider utilizing clean energy in place of heavily polluting small gas engines. For more information on these lawn care franchises, visit http://www.cleanairlawncare.com.

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