Edmonton City Council Will not Ban Grass Clippings from Regular Garbage Collection

Council backed away from a decision to ban grass clippings from the regular trash pickup. Instead a June utility committee will provide council members with more details on what residents can do with those grass clippings if they refuse to leave them on the lawn.

The City will still consider implementing a separate pickup schedule for spring and fall yard waste starting this autumn. It would be similar to Christmas tree collection, where crews do a separate trip to keep the material out of the regular garbage trucks. This would still allow the trees to be chipped and used for landscaping.

A separate pickup for yard waste would allow the leaves, thatch and other yard waste to be turned into a cleaner, more useful compost with less cost.

Nearly 60 per cent of Edmonton residents already leave their grass clippings on the lawn. City officials have been running an education campaign on the subject for years, arguing the clippings add moisture and nutrients to the lawn.

Read the full article from the Edmonton Journal.