As much as we try to hold on to autumn's changing colors, winter is charging in with its blustery cold (and rain, in the case of the Pacific Northwest). Trees have shed their unused leaves where they lie in our yards, becoming mushy piles of debris. Portlanders tend to allow their leaves to decompose where they have fallen, but many other people in different parts of the country tend to rake these leaves into plastic bags to leave at the curb. Since plastic is our game, we at Trash for Peace just wanted to share suggestions on how to clean your yard, the eco-friendly way.
Portland is an exception in that the city provides composting bins to their residents. Considering this may be the only city in the nation that does this, I did some research to find out how other cities tackle this problem. There are city websites out there specifically asking residents to not put leaves in plastic bags and tells them why. Click here and here for a couple examples.
But what about everybody else? Here are a couple ideas to spread:
1. Leave your leaves: You can either leave them where they fall or rake them and put them into your own compost. Letting your leaves compost is Mother Nature's way of recycling the valuable nutrients back into the earth. Why compost?
- It's free! No need to purchase mulch for your garden or landscaping.
- It adds organic nutrients to the soil, decreasing the need for fertilizers.
- It reduces soil erosion and water run-off by allowing plants to gain a stronger hold to the soil.
- It restricts growing weeds from popping up.
2. Invest in biodegradable bags: You can find paper or biodegradable bags at almost every hardware store. Once the city picks up your yard waste, they run the leaf-full bags through a shredder turning everything into a mulch, that is also eventually used as compost material.
Let Mother Nature do your recycling! (At least in the case of fallen leaves).
But what about everybody else? Here are a couple ideas to spread:
1. Leave your leaves: You can either leave them where they fall or rake them and put them into your own compost. Letting your leaves compost is Mother Nature's way of recycling the valuable nutrients back into the earth. Why compost?
- It's free! No need to purchase mulch for your garden or landscaping.
- It adds organic nutrients to the soil, decreasing the need for fertilizers.
- It reduces soil erosion and water run-off by allowing plants to gain a stronger hold to the soil.
- It restricts growing weeds from popping up.
2. Invest in biodegradable bags: You can find paper or biodegradable bags at almost every hardware store. Once the city picks up your yard waste, they run the leaf-full bags through a shredder turning everything into a mulch, that is also eventually used as compost material.
Let Mother Nature do your recycling! (At least in the case of fallen leaves).
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