If your community association contracts with the City of Houston Solid Waste Department for your trash pick up service, you are required to place “Green Waste” in biodegradable bags for separate pick up by the City.  These items are used to make compost and mulch by Living Earth Technology. You can buy their product from many area retailers. If you are picked up by a private service such as Waste Management, Best Trash, or Republic, you do not have to use biodegradable bags, but your green waste will go to the landfill.

Yard trimmings, leaves, grass, and other green wastes 

Almost all organic waste put at the curb or in your trash is buried at the landfill and the rich nutrients in these items are lost forever.  Almost every home in Kingwood can recycle virtually all green waste “on property” by using a combination of a mulching mower, compost bins, and by composting in place.  The latter is as simple as putting new mulch (i.e. pine bark) on top of the fall leaves in a flower bed and allowing the leaves to decay in place under the mulch, restoring fertility to the soil below.  Compost bins can be as simple as a freeform pile or very high tech.  A simple pile (4’ X 4’ X 4’) made of two by four lumber and chicken wire costs less then $100 if home made. Contact www.Edibleearthresources.com if you would like them to build and deliver one of these types of bins for you or turn your back yard into your own personal Farmers Market.

Click here: Choosing a Compost System to learn more about how composting works and the many different ways you can do it.  Or, for more information on composting visit the compost guide.

If you must remove green waste, branches, trees, leaves from your property, consider taking them to a green waste-recycling center such as Kingwood Mulch & Soil (2625 Millsbranch Dr – (281) 359-2739 or Dirt Cheap Mulch on Rt 1960 in Atascocita (281-852-3478) where it will be composted and returned to nature . The current fee for homeowners is from $5 to $10 per pickup truck load.

If your yard work is done by a lawn service, make sure that they dispose of any organic items they pick up from your property responsibly by composting them or taking them to a recycling center.

An attractive composting area at a Kingwood home 

In Kingwood it is easier than you might think to build a composting area in your back yard.  The pictures below show three compost heaps, a rain collection area, and a recycling potting bench at a Kings Point home. This functional area is directly behind the garage and this home was featured in the April 2007 Kingwood Garden Club home tour.  The bins were built out of recycled plastic lumber available at Lowes. Very little organic waste or any other type of recyclable trash are sent to the landfill from this home.  You can view a similar bin at Oak Forest Elementary School in the garden area along the south side of the school which is located at Kings Parkway and Kingwood Glen in Atascocita.

Three recycled plastic compost heaps.  Even old planting pots are recycled by this gardener.

Rain water is collected from gutters of the house and garage and stored in plastic tubs.

This area is behind the garage with compost heaps, rain collection system, and  a potting bench.  A cedar fence hides this view from the remainder of the showcase back yard.