Leave your Leaves
By: Matthew Taylor
It’s that wonderful time of the year again, where the temperatures are cooling, college football is in full swing, and our trees are impressing us with their beautiful colors. It also means that some of us will soon be dealing with piles of leaves in our yards. Have you ever wondered what sustainable options there are for managing leaves? A number of municipalities in Tennessee don’t accept yard waste in their curbside trash collection, and even when and where it may be accepted in your trash, there are more sustainable options available. Here are a couple ideas for your leaves this fall:
1. Mulch the leaves in your yard! If you have a manageable amount of leaves in your yard, one easier to do strategy is to use a lawn mower to shred your leaves, returning the nutrients from them back into your yard.
2. Use the leaves as mulch in your garden or landscaping beds! If you have landscaping, garden or raised beds, a cover of leaves can be used to help retain moisture and suppress weeds, and create beneficial habitat for bugs and other critters.
3. Compost the leaves! If you do backyard composting or have access to a community composting site, leaves are a perfect ingredient to incorporate into your compost pile. Most composting guides recommend a 3 to 1 on “browns”, such as leaves, to “greens” such as food waste. (If you have the space, creating a pile of leaves will provide you with a beneficial compost ingredient throughout a portion of the year).
4. Take advantage of a community Yard Waste Program! A number of communities across Tennessee provide yard waste collection or provide locations for residents to drop off yard waste. Your community may have specific requirements for how leaves are collected, such as not using plastic trash bags, make sure to check your community’s requirements.
