Figuring out what to do with the grass clippings created when mowing our lawns can be quite a quandary at times. As landfills continue to fill at alarming speeds — with up to 20% of the refuse being yard waste! — many are banning grass clippings all together.

So if we can’t dispose of the clippings in the garbage, what are we supposed to do with them? One of the best things you can do is just leave them on the lawn, but here are some other resourceful ideas …

One of the easiest things to do with your grass clippings is to mulch them as you mow (many lawnmowers have this option) and leave them right on the lawn. This practice is known as grasscycling and has many benefits for your lawn. It helps to cut down on water use and also adds extra nitrogen, reducing the need for fertilizers.

Building raised beds can be an expensive endeavor when it comes to filling them with soil. To help offset the cost you can use grass clippings to take up space in the bottom half of the bed. Just be careful not to fill the beds with more than 1/4 or so from grass.