Development of Environmental Guiding Principles Raises Awareness of Environmentally Sound Home Landscape Practices for Homeowners MARYSVILLE, Ohio, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More American households than ever are spending time on lawn and garden activities. According to National Gardening Association statistics, a record 91 million households spent time working on their lawns or gardens last year. Yet research by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has shown that as few as 25 percent of U.S. homeowners are taking the right steps to ensure their activities contribute to a better environment. To address the need for increased education, ScottsMiracle-Gro, in a cooperative effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the National Gardening Association, the Center for Resource Management and other environmental advocacy and industry groups, formed the Lawns & the Environment Initiative to help define, promote and encourage adoption of responsible lawn and landscaping practices. The organizations will sign a proclamation of their support of 10 "Environmental Guiding Principles" at a ceremony in New York City on April 28, in conjunction with National Gardening Month. The principles cover a range of environmentally sound practices that homeowners can follow, including responsible planting, fertilizing, watering, mowing and pest-control activities. "ScottsMiracle-Gro supports the principles established by our partners as they reflect our own efforts to help homeowners create and maintain beautiful, healthy environments," said Rich Martinez, Chief Environmental Officer for ScottsMiracle-Gro. "Our research has shown that the vast majority of homeowners would be willing to change their lawn and garden activities if they knew it would make a difference. Our hope is that this effort will empower them to do to put these principles into action." Tips from the "Proclamation of Environmental Guiding Principles" include advice about: * Choosing locally adapted plant species * Choosing fertilizers that best fit needs of plants and soil conditions * Following label instructions when applying fertilizers and pesticides * Mowing lawns at the highest recommended setting to encourage plant vigor and reduce runoff * Preventing fertilizers, pesticides, yard debris and pet waste from entering water sources or wastewater systems. For more information and advice on how to maintain a healthy and beautiful lawn and garden, visit: http://www.scotts.com/. About ScottsMiracle-Gro With more than $2.3 billion in worldwide sales and more than 6,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. The Company also owns Smith & Hawken, a leading brand of garden-inspired products that includes pottery, watering equipment, gardening tools, outdoor furniture and live goods. Additionally, the Company owns Morning Song(R), a leading brand in the wild bird food category. In Europe, Scotts' brands include Weedol(R), Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit us at http://www.scotts.com/. DATASOURCE: Scotts Miracle-Gro Company CONTACT: Su Lok of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, +1-937-578-5169 or Web site: http://www.scotts.com/

Copyright