Blog post by Abbey Vanasse, Maryland intern
It’s that time of year again when there’s a slight chill in the air on a brisk autumn morning. As fall approaches us, so does the changing of the trees' green leaves to the beautiful orange, yellow, brown, and red foliage that cover our yards, sidewalks, and streets. Since these leaves can cause major stormwater and sewage backups by clogging city drains, it is important to take action! How can you do so? There are several ways through a campaign called Leave the Leaves.
Leave the leaves is a movement that supports letting the fallen leaves stay on the ground in your yard to create an eco-friendly mulch for a healthier environment. Leaves provide many benefits including those for the environment, your health, and your home.
Environmentally, the leaves serve as a natural cover for many small critters and insects that live here during the winter. These insects provide an increased amount of pollination which can help provide ecosystem health for plants in a home garden. Small critters and insects are also great for protecting your yard from pests that may try and destroy your yard.
In terms of your home, leaves create an organic, pesticide-free mulch that helps to reduce weeds and vines in your yard; While doing this, they also fertilize the soil as it breaks down. This mulch can be used as a compost mix to use in a home garden or simply left to decompose in your yard.
Most local governments in Maryland that collect leaves and other yard waste compost it instead of disposing of it with trash, providing important economic benefits. However, Baltimore City has no large-scale program for composting residential yard waste. Instead, yard waste collected by Baltimore City DPW is taken to the BRESCO trash incinerator to be burned with the City's other trash. Yard waste from Baltimore City alone is 7-8% of the total waste burned at the incinerator. This costs the City money: in 2024, we paid over $2 million to dispose of 36,250 tons of residential yard waste at the incinerator. Burning yard waste releases harmful air pollution into the atmosphere that can lead to a plethora of health issues including respiratory illness, breathing problems, headaches, and chronically reduced lung function.
Instead of bagging up your leaves to be collected and burned, you can leave the leaves in your yard, but remain cognizant that they do not clog the sewers. You can also use the leaves as compost in a home garden. Only bag your leaves if absolutely necessary - there are so many better alternatives than incineration!
