Bagging Leaves

Despite what the lawn bag may tell you, raking leaves and putting them on the curb for your municipal leaf & limb service to collect is not all that “green”.  It takes energy to make leaf bags, even the post-consumer, biodegradable ones. And while it may be nice to have someone else take care of your unwanted leaves, think about the oil used to power the fleet of those leaf & limb vehicles (not to mention that tied up in the creation and maintenance of the vehicles themselves).
Hands down, the only sustainable way to "dispose" of leaves is to keep in at home. Leaves return carbon to the soil and the microorganisms in your lawn, and while you might not like the look of it, this precious recycling of nutrients to the soil is nature at it's best. By interrupting this chain of life and turning nutrient cycles into linear models to suit our human needs of convenience and expediency, we are burdening the planet (and ourselves with unnecessary work). Just leave it to the worms!

Multiple Functions of Leafbags:

~Added Insulation to stone wall foundation
~Protection for frost sensitive plants (figs, citrus, kiwi, etc)
~Chicken yard scratch
~Compost concealer (adding carbon to compost is necessary to keep odors from emanating)
~Free future soil

Options for those who want leaf-free yard:

~Ask your neighbors if they want them
~Put them up on Craigslist for other people in the area who may want leaves
~Just rake leaves to corner of yard, away from view.  Keep an eye on that area as you’ll notice incredible soil accumulation over the years.