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Joined: 16 Jun 2003
Posts: 56
Location: Medford, NJ
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 Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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Karen,
Good question. According to the township, curbside leaf collection will occur in the months of April, May, November, and December.
In my neighborhood, they collected leaves early in November, just before the bulk of the leaves fell. Most neighbors put leaves out just after they collected. They haven't been back to collect, and December has come and gone.
I'm sure most landscapers would collect and remove them if you paid them for the service. Landscapers actually buy leaf mulch from the township.
These leaf piles are not just an eyesore... they can be a real traffic hazard. Some neighbors push their piles out onto the street (taking up half the street in some cases). Unfortunately, the wind, snow, and rain cause the leaf piles to spread out. Wet or frozen leaves become difficult to remove. Fortunately, some neighbors are considerate enough to set up temporary leaf bins, with plastic or wire fencing, which keeps the leaves from spreading onto the street.
It seems like the township has limited capacity to collect leaves, and it takes them weeks to cover the whole township. It would be great if they had enough trucks and crews to collect from the whole township in less than a week, so that they could time the collection to occur just after the big leaf drop, and before any big rainfall or snowfall... mid to late November. But... trucks and crews cost money, and these same crews handle other tasks (like plowing snow, bulk trash, etc.).
I'm trying to encourage neighbors in my neighborhood to corral their leaves, or better yet, mulch and compost them. Actually, you don't even need to mulch them... just find a spot on your property to corral them in a wire fence, and leave them for a year. You don't even have to turn the pile (although that helps). By next fall you will have "leaf mold"... a.k.a. "black gold". Composted leaves are great for your lawn or garden. Personally, I mulch my leaves, and I use the mulch all over my yard. A lawnmower makes quick work of them... just raise the mower deck a bit, and don't pile the leaves too high, and you can work through them pretty quickly.
Rather than getting rid of my leaves, I actually try to get more. I get an extra truckload of leaves from the Township whenever I can. The only problem is that the township crews tend to suck up (and chop up) a lot of trash from the side of the road, and I have to pick this out of the compost. But the compost is great... I use it all over. The sandy soil we have around here dries out very quickly in the summer, and the leaf mulch helps trees and bushes survive.
Tom |
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