Cost of Conventional American Lawns
Amount of lawn in the United States: 40.5 million acres
Total amount of money spent on lawn care: $30 billion
Percent of residential water used outside: 30 to 60%
Amount of water used daily for residential irrigation: > 7 billion gallons
Amount of fertilizers used on lawns annually: 3 million tons
Amount of synthetic pesticides used on lawns annually: > 30 thousand tons
Ratio of pesticide use per acre by the average homeowner versus the average farmer: 10 to 1
Source: Statistically Speaking: Lawns by the Numbers
by Bill Chameides | July 25th, 2008
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Additional Information
- Natural Landscaping at EPA’s Laboratory – www.epa.gov/ne/lab/pdfs/LabLandscapeFactsheet.pdf
- Bormann, H. F., D. Balmori, and G. T. Geballe. Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony, Second Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven. 2001.