Love 'Em And Leave 'Em

Your Leaves: To Love ’Em Is to Leave ’Em…

An Environmental & Cost-Saving Initiative of Westchester County and Local Municipalities

Leaves are a valuable resource that many property owners let go to waste every fall. Leaves are blown into piles on the street, or placed into bags, left for municipal pickup. Too often these vast piles spread out creating a safety hazard for drivers and wash into the storm drains, clogging storm sewers. Leaves decaying on the street also release nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen (aka “fertilizer”) that eventually wash into our rivers. Ugh! What a mess!

Leaf piles in street, clogging storm drain, leaching into river.

Leaf piles on street cause unsafe driving conditions,
clog storm drains, and leach phosphorus into river.

DPW crew working overtime to collect leaves left curbside.

So as a homeowner or property owner, are there better options? How can we be smarter about how we deal with fall’s bounty of leaves? Answer: Leave ’em at home!

Mulching (shredding) in-place is the best and simplest solution. It is easy to learn, easy to implement, gets great “green” points, and better yet: actually saves time & money!

This practice of mulching-in-place offers many benefits:

Saves money: Helps keep your taxes down by reducing municipal leaf pickup and disposal. (Landscapers can also save operating costs by needing smaller crews and avoiding dumping fees.)
Saves effort: Many homeowners (and landscapers) find that mulching leaves in place actually is easier than raking, bagging, or blowing them to the curb.
Keeps your property healthy: Leaf mulch recycles nutrients into your soil to feed your plants, improves soil health, and helps retain moisture, reducing the need for watering in dry spells.
Helps the planet: Transporting and disposing of leaves from your curb wastes energy and contributes to pollution. LELE helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in your local community.

By now you’re thinking, “OK, I’m sold! So how do I mulch-in-place? What’s the secret?”

Grass-Cycling

The benefits of the LELE mulching-in-place methodology can be expanded to encompass a three-season lawn care approach when you include grass cycling. Leaving mulched/shredded grass clippings in place adds nitrogen fertilizer and other organics back into the lawn. No special equipment beyond a mulching mower is required.

Do you know the 4 Simple Steps of good lawn care?

Get additional background and "how to" information in our grass-cycling FAQ.

Training and On-Site Consultations

If you use a landscape maintenance company, your landscaper may require some initial instruction in these greener practices, as well as needing a simple, low cost conversion of mowers to perform efficient mulch mowing. But once done, you'll both see an improvement in your topsoil, turf and plantings.

We encourage all homeowners, property managers, landscapers, local municipal officials, and DPW & Parks staff to check out the valuable research information, "how to" videos, questions & answers, and program resources.

Check out our calendar of training events for upcoming LELE "how to" training presentations scheduled in your area. The EVENTS page also has documentation of recently held events.

Please contact us (email address at top of left column) for information concerning free on-site consultations available to landscape professionals, property managers, and municipal staff.

Find out more about our LELE trainers who are professional landscapers experienced with leaf mulching and grass-cycling methodologies.

Download a list of local landscapers who provide LELE leaf mulching services to their clients.(.pdf)

Testimonials

Don't believe us? Read first hand experiences from folks like you - homeowners, property managers, professional landscapers, municipal officials, and DPW & Parks staff. Each one of these testimonials provides another snapshot of why LELE is a win-win: "It's simple, it's green and it makes cents."

LELE Toolkit

We have also developed a wide range of materials for training, public education and outreach - all of which is available for your modification and re-use. Municipalities, environmental groups, and landscapers have already created customized versions of various items for their own local use.