Waste management - England Golf

The Golf Course:
Best practice guide to the management of selected waste streams
Composting of grass waste
Such a scheme may involve the placement of a series of hard based and bunded
temporary grass storage bays located discretely around the course where
greens and tees clippings can be stored for a maximum of one month before
they are collected and relocated to a single composting facility. Alternatively,
several UK clubs are now seeing the benefits of lightweight trailers which can be
attached to the back of a greens mower, filled with clippings and collected after
the work is complete. This method prevents the need for permanent storage
bays in tight areas of the course where there may be no scope to introduce
them.
A well constructed and discrete storage bay
The central compost facility must be large enough to handle two or three
compost piles, again on a bunded hard standing with a fall to a collection sump.
After six to eight months in one position each compost pile can be turned before
the commencement of a second or third composting pile. Any leachate collected
can be reapplied to the compost as a wetting agent or dealt with via dilution and
spraying onto weak areas. The facility should be completely covered to prevent
the addition of rainwater which will aid the run-off of leachate whilst destroying
the integrity of the compost. Fine turf clippings alone are poor for making good
quality compost as air cannot move within them, thus creating anaerobic
decomposition and subsequently the unmistakable foul odours associated with
piles of fine turf clippings. It would therefore be beneficial to the golf course that
all organic waste taken from cut rough grasslands or recently trimmed trees is
collected and chipped in order to mix with fine turf clippings to create a good
standard of compost. If worked correctly then a usable compost should be ready
for use within 12 months. This can then be applied to areas of the course, i.e. as
a top dressing for tees or in garden-style areas near the clubhouse, or sold to
members or the general public in order to generate extra revenue for the club.
Several golf courses in the UK have already established such a project and are
receiving a sustainable income from it.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Best Practice Approach for English and Welsh Golf Clubs
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