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CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. Croton trustees are considering mulching leaves on their own properties, instead of vacuuming leaves by default. Recycling advocates say the mulching method would save the village time and money, and makes lawns healthier.
You cant expect to see huge changes right away, said Mark Gilliland, a landscape architect, about converting homeowners and lanscapers to leaf mulching. Gilliland presented Irvingtons Love Em and Leave Em leaf mulching program to the board. Even a 25 percent reduction would be huge, he said.
Each year municipalities in Westchester spend hundreds of thousands of dollars disposing of organic waste, including vacuuming leaves and transporting them north of Westchester. Croton spent over $143,000 disposing of yard waste during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, according to the recently released Refuse Collection Survey commissioned by the village. The $143,000 includes labor costs, insurance, maintenance, administration, fuel, and disposal costs. Just under $850,000 was spent collecting all kinds of waste, referred to as municipal solid waste.
The village pays $25 per ton to dispose of MSW, and $15 per ton to dispose of organic matter. Village officials say $15 per ton doesnt represent the real cost of disposing of leaves, since 61.7 percent of the cost is subsidized by Westchester County. Village officials at Monday nights work session said that the village spent $33,764 in 2010 alone, to pay for just the disposal of yard waste.
Westchester County generates about 180,000 tons of organic yard waste annually, composed of predominately leaves, according to Deputy Commissioner of Westchester Countys Department of Environmental Facilities, Louis Vetrone. After the yard waste is collected, private contractors cart the waste to commercial composting operations up to 90 miles north of Westchester County.
Anne Jaffe Holmes, a program coordinator at the Greenburgh Nature Center, who helped create the Love Em and Leave Em leaf mulching program in Irvington, said mulching the leaves helps a natural process. Were actually spending a lot of time and money removing what our turf, our grass and our plants need, then driving away and replacing it with stuff that isnt even as good, she said about commercially available compost and fertilizers.
Essentially, the process of mulching leaves requires homeowners or landscapers to run over the leaves with a mulching mower. Gilliland said that once the leaves are mulched, theyre about the size of a fingernail, and essentially dissipate into the turf.
Gilliland said that municipalities could save money by mulching leaves, through a reduction in organic waste which goes to disposal facilities. He also said many lawns do not need fertilizer the following spring, and that over time mulching the leaves can help with soil compaction problems.
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