[GreenYes] Re: Grasscycling

[Anne Peters <annep@no.address>]

 Christine,
A hauler I worked for in Boulder County, Colorado ran a rebate program 
in 1997 for mulching mowers. At that time, our local ag extension 
service provided us with an estimate of how much grass is grown per 
yard, per year, in this region. Obviously that quantity is going to be 
more (on a per-square-foot basis) in the humid East Coast, than here in 
the semi-arid West. You may be able to get local information from the VA 
ag service, and then info on average lot size from the City of Alexandria.  
We've had a few serious drought years since then, and a big move toward 
xeriscaping, so I expect generation quantities are generally way down 
here. Which is to say it's not an exact science!

Here's how we estimated diversion:

Estimated Diversion.
Although some of the participants may have switched to mulching 
mid-summer, our estimate is based on a summer's worth of grass 
diversion.  Using our estimates of 1.5 pounds of grass/household/day and 
a 6-month growing season, 270 pounds/household/year is diverted.  
Assuming 246 households receive rebates, that equals about 33.2 tons of 
grass to be diverted from the landfill this year - and for each year to 
come.

Good luck,
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, CO
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax

Christine.McCoy@no.address wrote:

> Does anyone have a methodology for calculating how much grass is 
> diverted through grasscycling??  I thought Seattle did something on 
> this, but can't seem to find the reference.
>
> Thanks much,
>
> Christine McCoy
> City of Alexandria