NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – There are several reasons why you should not blow your leaves onto the street this fall.
Piles of leaves can clog storm drains. Clogged stormwater pipes cause street flooding. They can also pose a hazard for drivers if they block lanes of traffic, and the leaves can make the road slippery for motorcycles and bicyclists.
In the City of Norfolk, officials posted a reminder over the weekend that street sweepers are not designed to pick up large piles of leaves. They can handle picking up leaves that fall naturally onto the street.
“Their primary function is to collect smaller debris like dirt and litter from the street. Keep leaves out of the street and storm drain system by mulch mowing into your lawn, composting or bagging them for trash pick up.”
City of Norfolk
Some Virginia localities, like Leesburg, do have special leaf vacuum trucks that provide fall bulk leaf collection, though.
So, what should you do with your fall leaves? Here’s what the City of Norfolk recommends:
- Love them and leave them! Rake leaves into your flower beds to use as free mulch. They will insulate your plants and tree roots from the cold weather and provide vital habitat for birds, frogs and beneficial pollinator insects.
- Mulch them into your lawn! Like grass clippings, fall leaves can also be mulched. Mow over them a few times to break into smaller pieces and leave them on your lawn to decay naturally. It’s free, totally natural fertilizer.
- Compost them! Add leaves to your compost pile and use the humus you make in your garden or plant beds to save money and return vital nutrients back to the soil.
- Bag any extra leaves in clear plastic bags and place on the curbline to be picked up by Waste Management on your regularly scheduled trash pickup day. Find your trash pickup day using the collection schedule search tool. You can also find more information about yard waste collection and general set out rules HERE.
Of course, you can also rake the leaves into a giant pile and have the neighborhood kids or kids at heart jump into it — before you do any of the steps above 🙂
Virginia Beach
The Virginia Beach Public Works Waste Management Group provided the following information on yard debris pickup in the city:
Consider mulch-mowing leaves and grass clippings instead of bagging and dragging them to the curb.
How to Prepare Yard Waste for Collection
- Place yard waste at the curb by 7 a.m. on your scheduled collection day.
- Place yard waste at the curb, away from the water flow line, and at least 3 feet away from other collection items and obstacles such as mailboxes, utility poles and vehicles.
- Do not block the sidewalk. Do not place near or on storm drains.
Bagged Leaves and Grass
- Leaves and grass clippings must be bagged in clear plastic lawn bags.
- No more than 25 bags, weighing no more than 25 pounds each.
- Bagged lawn debris can be placed inside your trash cart.