LANARKSHIRE'S lawn clippings are being turned into a new, sustainable animal bedding product.

Enva’s take on recycling the grass cuttings from parks and lawns in the county, is a bit different to traditional animal bedding materials. But, its ability to absorb moisture makes it an ideal complement or replacement for straw and helps promote high animal welfare standards.

This 'green' compost British Standards Institution specification of BSI PAS100, which is a strict requirements to ensure materials, such as green waste, is processed in a controlled way, including an effective sanitisation stage. That's an important point for dairy farmers especially, who need to ensure that disease or infection is not spread from bedding material.

Additionally, once used, this bedding material can be applied back to land and used as a slow release fertiliser and soil enhancer, in conjunction with farm fertiliser and waste management plans. The material complies with Red Tractor and QMS farm assurance schemes.

The green compost-derived bedding is available for collection or delivery from Enva's depot in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire. It is easy to store, handle and apply, but should be stored inside or covered to avoid getting wet, to maximise absorbency in bedded yards.

It is recommended to bed at depths of at least 10cm and replaced as required. It can be mixed with straw, or used underneath to improve absorbency and drainage of the bedded area.

After use, it can be applied to land via a conventional agricultural dung spreader.

Enva said its aim was to recycle suitable organic materials to land, thus lessening farming's reliance on imported chemical fertiliser, at the same time as reducing animal bedding costs and carbon footprint.