Reason's Why You Shouldn't Rake Your Leaves

Hello again bloggers.

I know I just started this blog yesterday, and have already posted three pieces. This was not my intention when I started. I don't plan on being this active in the future. However this blog is new and fresh so I have felt the need to post a lot to kick things off. Or as I should say, I've just had a lot to talk about right off the bat.

This post is a fitting one as we're entering the middle of October. Most of us are already seeing the leaves change colors. Some of us are already reaching peak color. And some of us have already started to see our lawns becoming more and more covered in the fall foliage. With that said, we are about to embark on why raking your leaves may not be such a good idea. Yeah.. I said it may not be a good idea. Here's why.

As our country is becoming more environmentally aware and willing to change the way we do things for the better of the planet, we're learning that racking our leaves and bagging them up may actually be causing more harm to the planet than good. According to the National Wildlife Federation, raking leaves is killing the environment. 

Leaves are used for many things including shelter and food for birds and chipmunks. When we bag them up, they don’t get enough oxygen to decompose. So they end up in our landfills. Which to be completely honest, I never really thought about. Now I don't believe that ALL of the leaves end up in our landfills. I know that back in Indiana we were allowed to just rake them to the curb and the city would come by and pick them up. Some do get mulched and used for fertilizer. However many of us across the country are required to bag them if we want the city to take them. Those are the ones that end up in landfills. (As far as I'm aware at least).

"In 2015, yard trimmings and leaves generated 34.7 tons of waste, which accounted for 13 percent of all waste generation. Of those 34.7 tons, 10.8 million went to landfills instead of being composted or mulched."

When we bag up our leaves and send them to landfills they can break down with other organic materials to create methane, the greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. This is a very very big deal!

Now, if you're like me and you want your yard to look nice but also don't want to continue to harm the planet, You're probably wondering what you're supposed to do?! Well you have a few options. 

Cutting them up and using them as fertilizer on potted plants or flower beds or starting a compost bin is a perfect solution. I know from my personal experience, I hate that we have to bag our leaves here in Rochester, if we want the city to take them. Its a pain in the ass for one, and it's super wasteful for another. It's a misuse for the leaves and it just adds more bag waste. 

So I'm more than okay firing up the lawn mower a few more times to chop up my leaves this autumn. Hopefully you will be too!

Thanks for reading and have a very happy autumn.