Are Leaf Piles a Problem in Your Neighborhood?

Do you spend hours raking your hard, haul the leaves out to the curb, and then watch them all blow away over the next few days so you’re right back where you started?

Frustrating, isn’t it?

It can also be dangerous, as the leaves can fall into the street, narrowing the road and clogging up the drains during heavy rains.

Village trustee Terry Michels is right there with you.

He brought up the issue Tuesday evening, saying he’s heard from residents about their leaves blowing back into their yards because they haven’t been picked up yet.

The Village offers free leaf-collection pick-up through Public Works for residents that leave their leaves in their yard by the curb, but there is no set pick-up time or date. Some leaf piles can be there for several weeks before they are removed.

Michels suggested that the Village offer more than one free yard-waste pick-up day, provided that residents place their leaves in the paper lawn bags, to speed up the process. 

“The last two months of the year are typically the worst,” said Michels. “Is there some way leaves could be picked up on a weekly basis?”

Trustee Gail Johnson said she would be worried about the “environmental impact” of having all the leaves picked up in bags. “Right now we take the leaves to a compost area,’ said Johnson, explaining that the leaves are composted without any type of bag.

One of the larger problems though associate with leaf pick-up is the location of where the leaves are supposed to go.

“We need to reiterate that leaves need to be on the curb, not the street,” said trustee Judy Sollinger. She said she has a neighbor who has been highlighting that rule from the Village’s newsletter and dropping it off to neighbors in the area whose leaves are in the street.

An issue over the leaves actually led to a fight last week, although no arrests were made, according to Oswego police.

The issue was brought up by Michels during trustee initiatives and will likely be addressed more in depth at a future meeting. 

Are there leaf piles in your area that haven't been picked up? Are they affecting you?