At this time of year, the trees that surround our homes carpet our lawns in glorious golds and scarlets, but what can we do with all those leaves?
Most municipalities disallow burning, so that means they must either be mulched, added to the compost, or taken away. Often, a city offers curbside pickup service, usually requiring that the leaves be bagged. To avoid polluting nearby bodies of water, it’s important not to pile leaves in the street gutter. This is because during a rain, nutrients will leach from the leaves and enter the storm drain, and that water is not treated before it’s dumped into the waterways. Too many nutrients in a lake promote overgrowth of algae, upsetting the lake’s ecological balance.