Keeping a lush green lawn or a beautiful garden is a great way to enjoy nature. To maintain this inviting outdoor aesthetic, chances are you will need to use fertilizers on a regular basis. While fertilizer is a handy addition to any lawn or garden, it must be handled correctly. Proper and disposal of fertilizer is mandatory for waste management and peace of mind.
Best Practices For Disposing Of Fertilizer
There are multiple different kinds of fertilizers available in today’s market.
- Traditional chemical fertilizers: containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compounds.
- Organic fertilizers: containing plant matter, animal waste, or even minerals. This type of fertilizer makes nutrients more quickly available to your soil.
- Biosolids: this is simply treated sewage sludge
Fertilizer Environmental Warning
Organic fertilizers generally pose a low environmental risk. On the other hand, chemical and Biosolid fertilizers are recognized as hazardous waste. Users should never under any circumstance throw these in the trash or down the drain. Improperly disposing of fertilizer like this will contaminate local water supplies. The reason being, these fertilizers contain phosphorus, which encourages the growth of algae. Algae will then begin to suck the oxygen out of lakes, rivers, and streams. This dangerous side effect is detrimental to fish and other creatures living in these bodies of water. When this occurs, it can quickly cause a great deal of damage to your local environment.
Proper Disposal Techniques
Fertilizers are not recyclable, so it’s more than necessary to follow proper disposal instructions.
- You can always look for friends or neighbors that can use your leftover fertilizer. This way you won’t waste any, and you can help someone else out in the process.
- Be sure to keep your fertilizer stored in a cool, dry place, and out of reach of any children or pets to ensure everyone’s safety.
- When you are ready you can locate a household hazardous waste facility nearby to dispose of your fertilizer in the correct manner.
- Make sure to always keep it in the original container, and don’t mix two different types of fertilizer together. This could result in a harmful chemical reaction.
- A tip for handling liquid fertilizer is to keep it in a bag to prevent it from leaking on you or anywhere else.
- If all else fails, read the directions on the package for disposal instructions, or call a professional lawn care service for assistance.
Keep Your Property Safe By Properly Disposing Of All Fertilizers
Fertilizers are just one of the many applications that play a role in our routine lawn maintenance schedules. For more information regarding fertilizer disposal, or any other lawn maintenance needs, contact a Chorbie expert today.
