Aussies urged to get free garden item heading into autumn
The ACT government is providing reusable garden bags to all its residents in a bid to reduce the amount of garden debris that ends up clogging drains and floating down waterways, especially as trees drop leaves heading into autumn's cooler weather.
Decomposing fallen leaves and other green waste pose a significant risk to water quality. When organic matter decays excess minerals are released into the water and can kill plants and fish once it reaches rivers and the ocean.
"When fallen leaves are rained on, they release phosphorus, and when the phosphorous goes into the stormwater drains on roads and private properties, they then go directly into our waterways. This phosphorus can lead to issues like toxic blue-green algae outbreaks," an ACT government spokesperson told Yahoo News.
Preventing the debris from getting there in the first place is much easier than trying to remove it in the system, so residents are being urged to use the free bags to tidy up their yards.
"Collecting leaves from nature strips and paved areas helps protect Canberra's waterways," the spokesperson said.
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This is the second consecutive year the bags will be provided to Canberra residents, with the initiative so popular last year that authorities ran out.
"More bags were purchased to fulfil this demand," the spokesperson said.
It's not just the ACT providing free items to residents to encourage them to clean up and dispose of their green waste properly, with councils in New South Wales providing free compostable bin liners and green waste services for years in a bid to collate organic matter.
In Queensland, residents are encouraged to visit resource recovery centres to dispose of their green waste and Victoria provides services and compostable bags and bins similar to NSW.
Professional gardener Nathan Stafford has taken it upon himself to clean up garden waste gathering on streets before and told Yahoo News previously "drains are only meant for water and anything else that's going down is not good".
"Every job [I do], I blow all the clippings into a pile and clean it up or put them back on the lawn because it's good nutrients for the grass," he told Yahoo.
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