City of Batavia issued the following announcement on Oct. 16.
The Batavia Environmental Commission encourages Batavia Residents to mulch their leaves this fall.
As we hear the whirring of the leaf vacuum trucks around our neighborhood, there is actually an easier way to handle our fall leaves than raking and blowing them to be picked up. The latest information is that our lawns will be healthier and our backs will thank us if we mulch instead of rake.
Here are some benefits to Mulching leaves:
• Reduces the volume of leaves dramatically and prevents leaf piles from clogging drains and causing floods.
• Feeds soil as leaves decompose and soak into the ground.
• Shredded leaves go to work keeping soil and roots warmer, retaining moisture, and preventing many weeds from germinating.
• Makes lawns better able to soak up rainwater runoff.
• Reduces pollutants from the trucks required to haul them to composting facilities.
• Mulching leaves also reduces back and neck injuries that come with the bending, twisting and reaching motions that raking requires.
If you don’t have a mulching lawnmower, attachments are available. If you use a lawn service consider asking them to mulch your leaves instead. If leaf mulch is too thick on your lawn rake extra leaves into landscape areas and around trees and shrubs.
If you still have too many leaves, mulch what you can and take the rest to the curb for city pickup. When putting your leaves out for pickup by city work crews make sure they are on an easily accessed spot on your parkway and do not spill into the street.
For more information on how and why to mulch leaves:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/…/mulch-your-leaves-this-f…/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/…/ct-life-1021-garden-morton-…
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Batavia
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