I dump some plant waste in our own woods, and I might sneakily dump it in town woods if town woods abutted my land. I would not dump waste so that it would block wooded trails, on my own land or others, but rather would dump branches or leaves, for instance, into a thicket already dense with fallen leaves and branches. I have routinely dumped old or bad hay onto our partially wooded hillside where it becomes mulch, and years ago used to dump old rotted wooden fence posts into our swampy area where they continued their disintegration. I fling old pumpkins, squash and melon rinds and the like into the weeds or woods, or onto the compost heap. I guess my criteria is if it will biodegrade and will not make a mess out of open woods or wooded trails, then I fling it sling it.

I dump biodegradable stuff - branches, fibrous weedings - into our own woods; I would never dump them onto land I didn't own.
Carol

I see nothing wrong in dumping biodegradable stuff in your own woods but all my biodegradable stuff I dump on my compost pile. Large branches I put on another pile in the middle of my field and then in winter when there is snow on the ground I burn it.

I don't think of anything from my yard as "waste" - since I repurpose almost all of it. I have a compost pile and a brush pile. And I'm always looking for mulch and organic matter for my gardens.

My property borders conservation land. Down at the end of the street I saw some people dumping into the conservation land (they were abutters). I called the cops.

I dump old fruits and vegetables (not diseased though) in my raised beds. They break down very quickly and add to the richness of the soil. I dump my grass clippings in the woods. My area has very sandy and nutrient poor soil so I feel that I'm actually doing to soil a favor by giving it some organic matter. It's amazing how the soil in that area is now full of earthworms but the soil elsewhere on my property is devoid of them.

i ask because I bought this house and then noticed the HUGE pile, mountain really, of grass clippings in the woods behind the shed! Quite sure it is still my property even though I am not exactly sure where the property line ends.

It was so large, I took a shovel and spread it all out. I suppose there was no real reason to do that. I did use some of the dirt in parts of my yard. I have thrown some other stuff back there - not much though. I prefer to take my leaves to the town recycling and I don't collect lawn clippings anyway.

I'm quite certain the pile came from the lawn service the last owner used and several on the street still use. I notice when they arrive, before they even start mowing a lawn, they have several barrels to dump out behind people's houses. I imagine they do this because they'd have to pay to put it elsewhere?

Next to me is town land and esp after last weekend, a few neighbors were dragging fallen branches down there. Again... what am I gonna say or do? The edge of the woods near the road is pretty awful looking anyway because the town also piles mountains of snow there all winter.

As others have said, I would never dump yard waste on someone else's property or on town land. I do have lots of options in my own yard:

Compost pile or bins: Anything that doesn't have roots or seeds that might haunt me later in the garden.

Woods across the street (we own one lot): Anything that shouldn't go in the compost and that was generated on that side of the house (street side).

Coastal bank: Anything that shouldn't go in the compost and that was generated on that side of the house (bay side). Roots and seeds are particularly welcome on the bank because they help control erosion.

Leaves and twigs that land on the lawn are usually raked into whatever garden bed is closest to serve as mulch. If I had a more powerful lawn mower (right now I use a reel mower), I'd just mow these and leave them be.

Claire

FroofyCat posted while I was writing my follow-up. Spreading the grass clippings was probably a good thing, particularly if there were plants or tree roots being smothered by the pile. The only thing I'd worry about is whether the lawn service used nasty chemicals on the lawns and those chemicals remained in the clippings.

Occasionally dragging fallen branches to town land would not be a big deal for me, so long as we're not talking about a well-cared for park.

Claire

Actually I've observed other people (passerbys, neighbors, town road workers) tossing branches that have fallen into the road, old pumpkins, and other organic debris onto the swampy area of our land. Stuff biodegrades pretty quickly there so I don't pay it much mind.

Now if a landscape company began to use my property as a dumping ground, I would call a halt to it. I guess I would expect landscapers to behave in a more professional manner, esp given the volume of debris they generate.

Needless to say, dumping of bottles, cans, plastic is another matter altogether and I would take swift action if I witnessed that.

interestingly enough - the grass clipping mountain was right next to where a small stand of Japanese Knotweed grows. I see the stuff all over town, but haven't seen it in the immediate vicinity, neighbors yards, or in woods behind me.

I had to wonder if the kindly lawn service deposited it there over past years along with grass clippings?

It has to be a young stand - probably only growing a few seasons. I dug it up and bagged it this spring and I pull any new shoots about weekly. My hope is to exhaust the root system, or at least to keep digging it up each year so that at least it never takes off.

So are you saying that you think the local landscaping service had been dumping all of the neighborhod waste behind your shed? Or they were just dumping the waste from your house behind your shed?

I know around here that with the less reputable companies, pricing can vary based on whether you want the landscaping company to remove your yard waste. But the more reputable companies always remove the waste, and dispose of it properly.

I think the Japanese knotweed along the road edge of our property got there via the town's brushcutting. There are huge stands of knotweed about a 1/2 mile from us. The town brush cuts about 3 feet along roadsides. I bet a piece got caught up in the mower. My husband got a concentrated weed killer and sprays just the plant. The leaves die and the poison goes to the roots. There are just a few stems but he keeps check all the time. Right now it looks like the early summer application has worked. I don't think digging it up works.

Do you know where your property lines are? I would not want grass clippings from a lawn service on my property due to the chemicals that are usually used. Sounds to me like you should talk with the owner of the property that abuts yours to see if they know where the property line is and to discuss this problem. Once you know for sure if the dump is on your property, send a letter to the lawn services. The previous owner may have said it was ok to dump there but you are the new owner and want the practice stopped. Keep a nice tone. The lawn service workers might not know there was a change in owners. I would mention the knotweed as a big reason to discontinue dumping.
Good luck.

I agree with defrost that a polite letter to the lawn service would be good, although there's no need, IMHO, to give a reason. As the owner of the property, it's in your best interest to not allow any kind of dumping on your land, unless you wanted grass clippings for some reason.

I'd also put a small sign, "No Dumping Please" just inside your property line, once you know exactly where that is.

One of my neighbors has a wooded area that I believe contains a vernal pool. He allows all the neighbors to dump yard waste there; highly illegal, even on private property, in my state. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it - I called the town about it, maybe 10 years ago, and the only result was that all the neighbors were angry with me for a few years. The dumping goes on.

the lawn people aren't dumping behind me anymore since I mow myself, but do for neighbors who use them.

If your neighbors allow their lawn service to dump the lawn clippings on their own land, there really is not a thing you can do about it. If the landscape companies are dumping on town owned land, then if I were you I would call the police. Even better - video tape them in the act.

Hi Pixie Lou,

That is too bad you felt you had to call the police on your own neighbors? Abuters? Did you both have a past arguement that made it difficult to talk to them directly? I know some people are approachable and others or like rabid dogs. Just curious.Were they dumping chemically treated grass and leavs?

Blake

I have a small tree service co dump the chips and wood on my land when they work in the area. At one time a few years ago I had about 3 tractor trailer loads in the field. I am now down to about 20 yards. I turn it with my tractor 3 times a year and throw in bags of lime and fertilizer from a local Agway that got wet or broken. it is my over size compost pile.A few neighbors have asked to buy some, the answer is always no. But I will fill your truck for free. It looks like a lot when its in the piles but when you top dress 300 fruit trees the 3 year old stuff doesn't seem to be enough. Also the wood they drop almost heats my house and water.

I wouldn't have a problem with people dumping organic waste in their woods, or even public land, providing this doesn't create a safety hazard, destroy natural habitat, or spread weed seeds of invasive plants, which should be bagged or burned. I burn the prunings from Bittersweet and Buckthorn, etc. especially if they have berries forming.

Do you really think this kind of thing warrants calling the police? Sure if they were dumping pesticides or motor oil, or something hazardous I would have a problem. But organic waste?

In the meantime, I would see that mountain of grass clippings as a goldmine to use in lasagne beds, compost or mulch.

no, I don't think it warrants calling the police.

I was just overall curious what other people think.

I guess I'm just crabby that my own woods had such a large pile. I was just mowing this morning and was checking it out and it is large... even though I spread it out, it covers a lot of area! I wish it was "natural" but it's all organic matter (well, I did find a beer bottle and a few things that looked like from christmas wreaths or something when I spread it around last spring) and I am just insane.

I did use some of it early this spring, but then when I saw the knotweed growing right there I got scared that I'd be moving some roots and basically transplanting that all over my property!!