This plastic was put down last winter over dirt at a construction site next to a permitted nature preserve. Is it meant to never be removed after grass is grown in? All summer long the landscaping company has mowed over it and it's shredding into small plastic everywhere. There's quite a vast area that this is placed.
by ssrm3806
3 Comments
That stuff is straight evil. It’s meant to stabilize soil and retain moisture by holding in to straw so grass can grow. They say it biodegrades, but it’s typically buried so the Ultraviolet light does reach it. So there’s plastic in the soil forever. And burrowing animals get caught in them, tangled up, and strangled and suffocated or just shredded to pieces trying to escape. This stuff should be banned permanently.
Theoretically, the grass is supposed to cover the erosion mat netting enough so that mowers don’t disturb it, but in my experience the mower always catches it and then pulls it up and away from the soil. It just shreds (and sometimes catches in the mower blade mechanism) and is a hazard to wildlife.
What you’re experiencing is especially stupid because the land is next to a nature preserve and the industry makes erosion mat with jute netting that decomposes, which would’ve been perfect for that location. The contractor should’ve used the jute netting, of course, but the issue is that it costs about 10% more than netting with this plastic shit in it, so if “jute” wasn’t specifically called for in the contract, then the contractor went with the cheaper alternative.
Do everyone a favor and rip it out