What is the problem?
- Yard waste is being dumped on park land.
- These natural materials seem harmless, but they lead to a degraded, unnatural system.
- Park resources are required to remove and treat biological waste on public lands.
Why is yard waste a problem in parks?
Biological Pollution
Yard waste is the leading source of invasive species in our natural areas. Garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, and dead nettle are only a few of the invasive plants that have come in through contaminated yard waste. Biological pollution, a.k.a. invasive species, is the greatest threat to wildlife that live within our parks. Additionally, invasive plants from yard waste have pushed out the scenic spring wildflowers at parks like Hager Park. Volunteers and staff have invested countless hours to reverse the damages of someone’s careless dumping of garden waste and leaves.
Dead nettle, a common garden plant, is very aggressive and invasive in natural areas.
Invasive garlic mustard spreads rapidly pushes out native wildflowers by releasing toxins into the soil.
Japanese knotweed is one of the most problematic and difficult invasive plants to remove and is often spreads into natural areas via yard waste.
System overload
A natural system can be thrown out of balance when excess materials are added. This is what happens when yard waste is dumped into a natural area. While materials from yards are natural or organic (grass clippings, leaves, and branches), they were not produced by the system in which they are disposed. Dumping yard waste in a natural area with the intention that the pile will decompose and return nutrients back to the land may seem like the right thing, but it isn’t.
- These piles take years to decompose.
- They smother and kill any plants they cover.
- Invasive plants, pests, chemicals, and excess heat from decomposition process are introduced into the natural community, causing unforeseen havoc on the site.
Be a good neighbor
Most people would never dump yard waste onto their neighbor’s property; you should not dispose of it in natural areas, for all the same reasons. Besides being unsightly and encouraging others to dump their waste there, dumping on a park property is illegal and subject to fines.
