Free Mulch from the Dump - Pros and Cons UPDATE post 18 Storm Devastated our Yard!

[Mrs. Ciz]

We need some mulch, lots of it, like 23 yards! We haven't put any down in 4 years. In the past we've had the black dyed mulch delivered, but it is very expensive, and we have a kid in college now plus some other home repairs that take precedence. I just went to a party at a friend's house. Her yard looked so nice all freshly mulched. When I complemented her, she told me she took her pickup to the dump and got the mulch for free. People take their yard trimmings to the dump, the dump grinds it up and gives away the resulting mulch. They even have a machine thing that dumps the mulch in your truck bed. She said there were some big chunks, but she just picked them out when she saw them.

If you've ever used the free dump mulch, how was it? Pros? Cons?

 

[sonnyjane]

We need some mulch, lots of it, like 23 yards! We haven't put any down in 4 years. In the past we've had the black dyed mulch delivered, but it is very expensive, and we have a kid in college now plus some other home repairs that take precedence. I just went to a party at a friend's house. Her yard looked so nice all freshly mulched. When I complemented her, she told me she took her pickup to the dump and got the mulch for free. People take their yard trimmings to the dump, the dump grinds it up and gives away the resulting mulch. They even have a machine thing that dumps the mulch in your truck bed. She said there were some big chunks, but she just picked them out when she saw them.

If you've ever used the free dump mulch, how was it? Pros? Cons?

Wow I can't believe it's free! That's what our county does but it's $26 per cubic yard... Still cheaper than Home Depot or something but not free. The only downside of our mulch was it smelled HORRRRRRIBLE until it had a chance to air out for a week or two.

 

[verleniahall]

it will probably smell for awhile like a PP stated, but hey - free is free and cant complain about that!!

Ours does free as well, it smells funky for about a day or so, and you have to scoop it into buckts or your truck or whater on your own

I would suggest going and seeing it for yourself, see if there is smells, etc... and then make your decision, each area is going to be different, or ask your friend some questions about it - she would know more about it than we would

 

[Mirielle]

Is there not a possibility it could contain termites or roaches? This may have been an ignorant question as I know very little about mulch.

 

[Rence]

A couple of years ago, the family behind us put in new beds right up against our property line. They got free mulch from the dump. Looked great,until a few weeks later the grass in both their yard and our yard began to die within several feet of the beds. It was some type of insect infestation that was killing the grass. Whatever it was, was very small, you really couldn't see them, but our lawn guy identified the problem for us. Had to put on a few extra applications of insecticide in our backyard to take care of the problem. Took a few months for our lawn to recover.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I have gotten free mulch before. After putting it down, I ended up battling weeds for a long time. I would think I had it under control and back they would come.
So, now I go to Lowes on Saturday or Sunday evenings or Mondays and get the broken bags for 1/2 price. I can easily find 4 or 5 at a time.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Is there not a possibility it could contain termites or roaches? This may have been an ignorant question as I know very little about mulch.

A couple of years ago, the family behind us put in new beds right up against our property line. They got free mulch from the dump. Looked great,until a few weeks later the grass in both their yard and our yard began to die within several feet of the beds. It was some type of insect infestation that was killing the grass. Whatever it was, was very small, you really couldn't see them, but our lawn guy identified the problem for us. Had to put on a few extra applications of insecticide in our backyard to take care of the problem. Took a few months for our lawn to recover.

These are the types of things I wouldn't have thought of. I'll have to ask the dump if it is treated at all. probably not if it's free.

 

[2Kds2K9]

We have a large yard with several mulched areas. We use it all the time with the exception of the beds against the house. Since it's not treated, I don't want bugs in th house. It saves us big bucks by getting it free from the dump. Helps that we have a trailer too.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I wouldn't do it. We have a "green" dump site at our town dump and I have taken oriental bittersweet and poison ivy there by the truck load. We have an acre and it's covered up with the stuff. If you mulch the bittersweet when it's still green it will reroot itself. I hate the stuff, it's so invasive.
My town does not mulch it though, it just sits there on a concrete pad until they can have it hauled off.

 

[megster1123]

You don't want anything "free" from a dump or city compost site. Dirt? Likely has debris (think little pieces of broken glass or metal) and could have god knows what else in there. Mulch can be just as unsavory.
My BIL is an ordinance officer in a nearby town that offers the free stuff from the dump and has always cautioned family and friends from taking any.

 

[aprilchem]

I wouldn't. Our town does that as well and the only person I ever know who took it got poison ivy while spreading it, and then poison ivy started to grow all over their yard. People bring all sorts of stuff to be ground up, including debris that shouldn't be made into mulch.

 

[2Kds2K9]

When we go on the week days, we have seen several landscape companies loading up their trucks with the free mulch. So, make sure you know where your landscape company is getting their mulch if you are concerned about what's in it.

 

[cabanafrau]

Our neighbor did this several years ago because she decided to re-mulch all of the beds that border her yard in back and got sticker shock. Our area is battling some pests knocking out some varieties of trees and people are having them cut down and/or municipalities are culling them from public land. Unfortunately budgets being what they are means some of these trees have been standing virtually dead for a while before removal, a virtual welcome mat for termites and carpenter ants. Those come as guests of the free mulch. Not fun.

 

[Squirlz]

We buy it at Home Depot when it's on sale for $2 a bag.

 

[Jennasis]

Nope. Bugs and who knows what poisonous yard waste is in that.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I did some additional research. Our free dump mulch is not treated with chemicals, but many municipalities do a sterilization process. I need to call my county and see if they do this (basically a composting process in which the high heat kills off the bad stuff):
"Sterilization Process
In order to be recycled, yard waste must be collected separately from garbage and delivered to a mulch processing facility. The Pinellas County Utilities mulch facility (located at Solid Waste Operations in St. Petersburg) uses a natural sterilization process prescribed by the University of FloridaÂs Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. First, the yard waste is ground up and formed into windrows (long piles) to facilitate natural heating and decomposition. Windrows are maintained at a minimum 130°F temperature with proper moisture and aeration for 45 days. This process kills weed seeds, plant pathogens, and pest insects."

 

[Sadie22]

We can get a set number of cans full free if we drop off yard waste, not an unlimited amount. We've never had a problem with the mulch. When there's plenty available, it's sold to local contractors as well.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

So I have a woodland backyard. I've been working on my flower beds for the last month. I've been planting some additional things, removing all the sticks and tree branches from the beds and raking out all the leaves. We have so many leaves; it's backbreaking work. Yesterday I finally finished the cleanup at 8:00 PM. I was dirty, sweaty and sore, but I took a few minutes to sit on the deck and enjoy the results of my hard work. An hour later a freak storm rolled through our area. It was really bad! Trees are down all over the place, power is out for so many people, including us. The power company has said it may be Sunday before we get electricity restored (I am using a county library computer now). The storm took 7 huge tree branches/trunks down in our back yard. Whole hunks on massive trees just broke right off on some. On others the whole top of the tree broke off.

The good news - the trees did not hit our house, our cars or hurt anyone. Thank God!

The bad news -every single one of them landed in my freshly cleared flower beds. DH is buying (if he can find one, many stores were sold out this morning) or borrowing a chainsaw, but I'm thinking we will need to hire someone to cut them all up and haul them away. At least we hadn't put down any mulch yet!

Arggggggggg!

 

[barkley]

So I have a woodland backyard. I've been working on my flower beds for the last month. I've been planting some additional things, removing all the sticks and tree branches from the beds and raking out all the leaves. We have so many leaves; it's backbreaking work. Yesterday I finally finished the cleanup at 8:00 PM. I was dirty, sweaty and sore, but I took a few minutes to sit on the deck and enjoy the results of my hard work. An hour later a freak storm rolled through our area. It was really bad! Trees are down all over the place, power is out for so many people, including us. The power company has said it may be Sunday before we get electricity restored (I am using a county library computer now). The storm took 7 huge tree branches/trunks down in our back yard. Whole hunks on massive trees just broke right off on some. On others the whole top of the tree broke off.

The good news - the trees did not hit our house, our cars or hurt anyone. Thank God!

The bad news -every single one of them landed in my freshly cleared flower beds. DH is buying (if he can find one, many stores were sold out this morning) or borrowing a chainsaw, but I'm thinking we will need to hire someone to cut them all up and haul them away. At least we hadn't put down any mulch yet!

Arggggggggg!

SO SORRY-we had a horrendous windstorm in November. we were very lucky damage wise-others not so much.

if any of the trees/branches are near power lines check with your utility company-they dispatched staff in our area to deal with at least getting them out of harm's way.

before you pay someone to cut it down and haul it away-check into how to make your own mulch from woodchips. it could be that you could rent a chainsaw and a chipper to get some use out of the trees. also-if you live in an area where people use wood for heating you may be able to find someone who will cut and remove the wood for free in exchange for letting them have it (popular around here-lots of people have big woodpiles sitting out to season until it's ready).