Sustainable lawns - type of grasses

Grasses for sustainable lawns

There are varieties of grasses that are in use to have sustainable lawns.  In my previous blogs, I have mentioned that lawns are fast and cheap way to cover a large area of exposed land. Lawns can be found in residential houses, business complexes, industrial complexes, roadsides and many other places. One of the main functions of lawns is to cover the exposed areas of the land, prevent erosion and protect the environment. Lawns also have many other functions: control dust, keep the area cool, create a safe play area, increase property value, and many other functions. Lawns should be managed in an environmental friendly way to control pollutions like Non-Point Source (NPS).   (http://siddas1346.blogspot.com/2013/07/lawn-care-management-system.html)

Grasses differ from variety of ways, like fertility requirements, tolerance to heat / cold weather, shade, drought, salinity, pest and other.  Cool season grasses are used in the areas where it’s freezing winter and hot summer (http://www.scotts.com/smg/goART2/InfoHowTo/what-are-cool-season-grasses%3F/19500084///). 

Cool season grasses are like Kentucky bluegrass, Perennial ryegrass, Fine fescues and Tall fescue.   I will discuss the species of grasses that are widely used as cool season grasses. More information is available at: http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/pubs/Georgia%20Forages%20-%20Grass%20Species.pdf

Here are characteristics of few grasses that are commonly used in the Northeast region of the USA:

§  Kentucky bluegrass: Insect tolerance is none, fertility from medium to medium high, recovery potential is excellent, shade tolerance is poor, heat tolerance is fair, wear tolerance is fair, drought tolerance is good and establishment quality is slow.

§  Fine fescues: Insect tolerance to some degree, fertility is low, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is very good, heat tolerance is fair, wear tolerance is poor, drought is excellent and establishment quality is medium to fast.

§  Perennial ryegrass: Insect tolerance to some degree, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is poor, heat tolerance is fair to poor, wear tolerance is excellent, drought tolerance is good, and establishment quality is fast.

§  Tall fescue: Insect tolerance is to some degree, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is from fair to good, heat tolerance is excellent, wear tolerance is excellent, drought tolerance is excellent and establishment quality is from medium to fast.

§  Annual ryegrass: Insect tolerance is fair, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is fair, heat  tolerance is poor, wear tolerance is from fair to good, drought tolerance is poor and establishment quality is very fast.

Most of the time blends of grasses are made for the purpose of specific uses.

§  Sunny and low maintenance lawns:  A mixture of fine fescue, perennial ryegrass blend and Kentucky bluegrass blend could be used.

§  Sunny and high maintenance lawns: A blend of Kentucky bluegrass blend, perennial ryegrass blend and fine fescue could be used.

§  Shady and well drained lawns: A mixture of fine fescue blend and shade tolerant Kentucky blend could be used.

The White House Lawn

There are verities of grasses that are used to create  sustainable lawns.  The conditions and usages of the lawn will determine type of grasses needed to be used.

Lawn Care Management System

Lawn Care

Environmentally Friendly Way

Many houses in the USA have lawns.  It is a fast and cheap way to cover a large area of exposed land. Lawns can be found in residential houses, business complexes, industrial complexes, roadsides and many other places. One of the main functions of lawns is to cover the exposed areas of the land, prevent erosion and protect the environment. Lawns also have many other functions: control dust, keep the area cool, create a safe play area, increase property value, and many other functions. Lawns should be managed in an environmental friendly way to control pollution like Non-Point Source (NPS), which I have mentioned in my previous blog - Sustainable Lean Six Sigma. 

Grass is in the family of plants known as the graminoids, which consists of over 6000 species.   Some examples of plants in this family include rice, corn, bamboo, sugar cane and oats.  

Grass seeds are the beginning of a new plants.   The seeds germinate when the soil temperature is between 50 – 55⁰ F minimum.  The root of the grass absorbs water and nutrients, stores carbohydrate and is used to anchor the plant.  The grass uses its leaves for photosynthesis and transpiration.  The grass stem include tillers, rhizomes, stolons and crown, used for density, recovery and lateral growth. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass  

Steps for start or maintain environmental friendly lawn:

v Test the soil to find the pH and quality.  The best soil far grasses should be little acidic around pH 6.0 – 6.5.

v Use right grasses for the particular condition, i.e., climate and site.  In the Northeast, the Kentucky Bluegrass is widely used.  Other grasses that are used are Perennial Ryegrass, Annual Ryegrass Tall Fescue and Fine Fescue.

v  Mow correctly: mow around 3” high and return the clipping. Mow when the grass is dry.  Make sure that mower blade is sharp.   Do not mow when during drought or very hot season – the grass is already stresses out.

v Seed or repair at the right time:  In the Northeast best time to seeding, aerating and fertilizing is from the end of August to the end of September.

v Try to water in the early morning and with conservation.   Too much water will replace air from the soil and grass could suffer due to lack of oxygen.

v Fertilization should be done very carefully, especially in an environmentally sensitive area. Moderate fertilization will create a good root system and over fertilization could create too much green.

v Lawn care management and pest control: Use an integrated approach.   Ask a professional for help when using pesticides; you must be extremely careful when using it in an environmentally sensitive area.

Environmentally friendly lawn care is a management system that protects our environment and provides us with healthy, stress tolerant grass, with an extensive root system of grasses.

For more information on lawn care visit:

http://extension.umass.edu/turf/publications-resources/best-management-practices

EPA & Brownfield

Brownfield Sites

What are Brownfield sites?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Brownfield sites as:

“With certain legal exclusions and additions, the term "brownfield site" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”   

Brownfield sites could be contaminated old abandoned industrial sites: old mill buildings in the North East, power plants, oil refineries, dry cleaners and other industrial facilities. Some sites may not be contaminated, like abandoned airstrip and warehouses.  According to the Environmental Law Institute, there could over 450,000 the Brownfield sites in the USA (http://www.brownfieldscenter.org/big/faq.shtml ).

Remediation of Brownfield sites and Funding Opportunities

The remediation of Brownfield sites are usually joint venture projects between the EPA, states and local communities, with the goal to reuse the Brownfield sites and to revitalize the local economy. The EPA has set four main goals for the Brownfield projects: protecting health and environment, sustainability or reuse the properties, promoting partnership in the communities and economic development in the community (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/ ). 

The EPA has many funding opportunities for the cleanup process of these properties.   State agencies identify the Brownfield sites and allocate the resources.    

There are four types of grant available through the EPA:

1.     Assessment grants:  Help to assess the sites, planning and community outreach.

2.     Loans:  Revolving loans or other funding for the project.

3.     Cleanup grant:  Funding for cleanup activities.

4.     Job training:  Grants for environmental training to the Brownfield local community.

More information about how to apply for the EPA grants could be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/assess/assessment_factsheet.pdf

 Success stories of remediated Brownfield sites:

Paul E. Tsongas Center, University of Massachusetts, Lowell (Formally Paul E. Tsongas Arena)

Since 1800, this site was polluted with many contaminants like asbestos,

heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and others. 

The City of Lowell used the EPA grants to develop this Brownfield site into a sports arena and a site for major concerts and public events.  Now, this site hosts Tsongas Center – a $30 million sports arena opened in January, 1998.  It can seat 7,800 sport fans.  The outdoor lawn can also hold 3,500 people for outdoor festival and concerts.  

In 2009, University of Massachusetts, Lowell took the ownership of this arena from the City of Lowell.   http://www.lowellma.gov/depts/dpd/services/econdev/brownfield

Lawrence Community Works, Massachusetts

Union Crossing 1 is now a community of 60 affordable housing units.  However, before remediation, these housing communities were old mill buildings with soil and ground water contaminated with petroleum. Beginning as a foundry site, these buildings were converted in 1916, into a textile mill that was operational until 1950.    

Furthermore, this Brownfield site is also an example of how the EPA works towards the Principles of Livability: not only is this former mill used for housing, but it is also walking distance to major public transit.       

Funding for this project came from both the private and public sectors.   This project could create 125 – 175 temporary construction jobs and over 200 permanent new jobs, once completed. 

http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/success/11/UnionCrossingSuccessStory.pdf

Union Crossing 1

The successful remediation of Brownfield sites requires the cooperation between the EPA, state and local governments and agencies, private organizations and the local community.  The remediation of Brownfield site could also revitalize the local economy.   Furthermore, there are many tax credits, loans, revolving funds and other financial help available to encourage the community and the private sector to get involved with the remediation of Brownfield sites.

Fully restored entrance door of the Victorian mill building once used as warehouse and sales office, Lawrence, Massachusetts

MA Regulations - Food Waste

Food Waste – Regulations in Massachusetts

Statewide ban on commercial and institutional on organics waste over 1 ton/week

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) introduced recently regulations on recycling to control the solid food waste.  A solid food waste ban started on January 2014 for any food-service operation that generates over one ton in organics waste per week – public schools, colleges & universities, hospitals, restaurants and other industries could be affected.   Fines for violating these regulations for the first time range from $860 - $1,725.  

The goal of this ban is, not only to recycle organics waste, but also to reduce it.   For more information on organics waste, please visit http://www.massrecycle.org.

Here are some facts on Food Waste mentioned by Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs: (http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/recycle/reduce/trimming-the-fat-cutting-costs-by-reducing-food-waste.html)

• Wasted foods generate over 800,000 tons of waste every year in Massachusetts.
• There could be a big savings to an entity by recycling organics.
• Possible tax deduction benefits for donating food to charitable organizations.
• Reduce the number of landfills in Massachusetts.

So, it’s time to get serious about managing organics waste; waste producers must implement their plans as soon as they can, rather than waiting for the last moment. 

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reported: "about one-third of all food produced worldwide, worth around US$1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems."  http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/food_waste_the_facts

Total Recycling System

IMPLEMENTATION OF RECYCLING SYSTEMS  

Solution could be reverse R³to create a Total Recycling System

Three chasing arrows:  the symbol represents the steps Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in a recycling system.  This is also the standard way to define recycling.   These three variables (R³) will be used in implementing a recycling system.  But is it the correct order to implement a recycling program in an organization?

 

The EPA described the three variables:  Reducing, Reusing and Recycling to describe total recycling systems (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/home.htm#recycle).

 

“Practice the three R's: first reduce how much you use, then reuse what you can, and then recycle the rest. Then, dispose of what's left in the most environmentally friendly way. Read the tips below and explore the Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste.

 

·         Reduce:

o    Buy permanent items instead of disposables.

o    Buy and use only what you need.

o    Buy products with less packaging.

o    Buy products that use less toxic chemicals.

·         Reuse:

o    Repair items as much as possible.

o    Use durable coffee mugs.

o    Use cloth napkins or towels.

o    Clean out juice bottles and use them for water.

o    Use empty jars to hold leftover food.

o    Reuse boxes.

o    Purchase refillable pens and pencils.

o    Participate in a paint collection and reuse program.

o    Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away.

·         Recycle:

o    Recycle paper (printer paper, newspapers, mail, etc.), plastic, glass bottles, cardboard, and aluminum cans. If your community doesn't collect at the curb, take them to a collection center.

o    Recycle electronics.

o    Recycle used motor oil.

o    Compost food scraps, grass and other yard clippings, and dead plants.

o    Close the loop - buy recycled products and products that use recycled packaging. That's what makes recycling economically possible.”

A hospital waste management company mentioned that, 55% of the bio-medical waste bins contents are not really biomedical wastes and could be graded as regular trash.  Another 35% of the regular trash could be recycled.  This increases the cost of waste management for the hospitals up and lowers the bottom line of the waste management companies.   Why are we refusing to manage our wastes properly, even if it means we are losing money?

How are we doing in recycling? 

Studies show that United States is the largest garbage generator in the world – 5% of the world’s population generation 30% of the world’s trash! So, we might have a big disconnect when it comes to to understanding the importance in recycling.  One of the jokes that I have heard about the three Rs in recycling is - Reduce, Reuse and then Refuse.  This “refuse” mind set could be what leads us to: generate more landfills and that could create more Brownfields; increased CO₂ in the atmosphere; increased deforestation to meet the demands for paper, housing and other goods; using more electricity to make new bottle/cans, and etc.; the creation of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; and many more environmental concerns.

The standard suggestion in a recycling program is to start by improving the variable Reduce. To implement this, we may have to change our buying habits first.  This required change of mindset could be a challenging task in our market driven culture.  The market also needs to change to meet the new needs of the consumers.  This could be very difficult task for both the manufacturers and producers.

Therefore, can we use reverse R³   instead to create a Total Recycling System?

 Reverse R³:

What do we mean by Reverse R³?

When implementing or improving the total recycling system, we could start with the variable Recycle, followed by the variable Reuse and last the variable Reduce.  Whatever is left after going through these three variables will go to landfills, incinerators, and other controlled places; or straight to our environment as pollution.

Additionally, these three variables (R³) could be inter-related.  Implementation or improving of total recycling systems should an ongoing process, similar to Lean Six Sigma or Continuous Improvement programs.  My suggestion is to work and improve one variable at the time and see how it is affecting the other variables.  It is also help to manage the project efficiently.

Step 1: While implementing/improving variable Recycling, one might see more opportunities in reducing the variable Reuse (the next stage).   At this point, you should look for changes in the buying patterns, effective communication, process and procedure to improve the efficiency of the variable Recycle.  This way, we could improve the variable Recycle even before we change our buying patterns!  It could be much faster to implement and get results.

Step 2: The next step will be to improve the variable Reuse.  Again, look for ways to improve processes, procedures, effective communication or buying patterns to improve this step. 

Step 3: Third step: improve the variable Reduce.  Again, look for the changes in process, procedure, effective communication or buying pattern changes to improve this step. This will be critical in the implementation of the total system of recycling of the organization.  At this point, issues with all three variables will be exposed. Top executives must be involved from the very beginning to change the corporate culture to improve its total recycling system and decrease the amount of disposal.  This concludes all the activities of the Total Recycling System.

The last part will to dispose whatever is remaining after improving all three variables (R³) in an environmentally safe way.   Once all three variables are improved and implemented as a Total  Recycling  System, then go back to Step 1 – improve the variable Recycle and follow through all the steps over and over again. It should be treated as continuous improvement project.

In an earlier post, (http://siddas1346.blogspot.com/2013/05/sustainable-lean-six-sigma-waste_22.html) I gave an example of a hospital using reverse R³ to implement its recycle systems:

“One of the hospitals in New Hampshire used the model of Recycle, Reuse and Reduce - the reverse order of normal RRR.  This organization first tired to increase recyclable materials by changing buying patterns.  They also recycled the wasted food from the cafeteria (non-patient food) for compost. To recycle food waste, the menu was changed and Monday was declared as “meat free day”.  Next, the management improved the issue with Reuse – one way was to stop using disposable items wherever possible.  After controlling Recycle and Reuse, the amount of Reduce and cost of waste management of the hospital dropped drastically.”

A reverse R³ system could be the proper implementation of total recycling system in your home or office.     Through continuing to monitor and control these three variables – Recycle, Reuse and Reduce - we commit to improving the environment of our planet.

Please Recycle