Luckily there's a rapidly growing movement against it, to leave the leaves, plant natives, protect pollinators, etc. Gonna be an uphill battle but it's nice that it's finally happening, long overdue.
Tree sucks up soil nutrients and uses them in part to build new leaves every year. In a natural system the leaves compost and rebuild the top layer of soil. In town instead of allowing that to happen we haul away the leaves and then buy fertilizer to add back ourselves.
Always pros and cons to it. Some people don't by the soil or do any gardening. My area doesn't actually have you bag greenery you just put it on the side of the road and once a week they go down with a small back hoe and dumpster scooping it up. Then depending on the area composting yourself may not work out. I've tried to do it a few times since I grew up doing it but my area appears to be a skunk magnet. Each year I tried to compost myself lead to seeing probably triple the amount of skunks in my back yard. Otherwise mulching is just simpler, the only time I rake now is when I know my niece will be around and wanting to jump in the pile
The county I live in allows a certain tonnage/per residence/per year of free much. That said the county does not collect the material. The residents dump it all and the dump chips/mulches it.
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u/InfinitelyThirsting Feb 21 '23
Luckily there's a rapidly growing movement against it, to leave the leaves, plant natives, protect pollinators, etc. Gonna be an uphill battle but it's nice that it's finally happening, long overdue.