Just because something is naturally grown doesn’t mean that disposing of it can’t create a problem for the earth. While you might not have thought twice about disposing of those fall leaves in the past, here is why you should be thinking of responsible ways to get rid of fall leaves today.
Thing you shouldn’t do
With fall clean up, many people opt for using a leaf blower. While this might be a good choice in areas that might otherwise be dangerous (such as getting leaves off of your roof), in general, using a leaf blower is a bad thing. You will use up extra energy, and in the case of gas blowers, release toxins into the air. The best bet is a good old fashioned rake.
Do you bag your leaves? I remember bagging my leaves in plastic bags and leaving them out on the curb for trash pick up. Boy is this not the thing to do. First of all, you are using plastic, which is never good. Second of all, you are adding to the land fill. Even natural materials are bad in a landfill when there isn’t enough oxygen to help them break down. Instead, they wind up releasing gases that could be harmful, as well as taking up space in the landfills.
Another bad thing is to burn leaves. While this is a sense gets rid of the problem without contributing to the landfill, it does contribute to pollution. At the very least, burning leaves can be an irritant to the respiratory system. At worse, it can deposit cancer-causing substances in your lungs (and perhaps burn your house down).
Things you should do
Two great things to do with your leaves is to mulch them and to compost them. Mulching may require a gas-powered mulching mower, which isn’t great. However, once you have the mulch, you can rake it out over your lawn, or rake it up and use it as a natural mulch under trees and in the garden. leaf mulch is great to winterize plants and bulbs.
You can also compost your leaves. The compost will add healthy nutrients to your soil.
You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here!
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