Leaves: Love'em and Leave'em

Background

Ewing Township Ordinance 21-08 enacted unanimously in mid-April 2021 and effective June 13, 2021, mandates that leaves and other yard debris (including grass) must be bagged in biodegradable paper bags but also allows, as an alternative, residents the ability to put leaves or brush in containers for pickup by the Township.

The changes, long required by the State, and reinforced by recent changes in State Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Rules, make the Township and its residents, compliant with existing State storm water rules.

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Leave the Leaves
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Options for Disposal

Option 1 - Mulch in place with your mower

We encourage all property owners to follow the precepts of a growing environmental movement called "Love 'Em and Leave Em!" Mulch mowing pulverizes leaves while feeding your lawn and garden. The practice, also known as "Grasscycling," works equally well on your grass. Information follows below.

Option 2 - Bag/Can

While we highly recommend Option 1, mulching your leaves with your mower, Ewing Township will pick up leaves or grass clippings when collected in biodegradable paper bags or in containers.

A note about Brush* Brush may also be placed at the curb for collection in lengths no longer than four (4) feet. It may be loose or containerized. No trees, tree trunks, or branches exceeding six (6) inches in diameter may be placed at the curb for collection. Materials must be placed curbside and not in the roadway.

Transport

Property owners who wish can continue to transport and dispose of leaves, grass clippings, and yard waste collected on their properties at the Ewing Township Brush Drop Off Convenience Center on Jack Stephan Way.

Mulching in place overview Homeowner Information Landscaper Information Grasscycling Information

We recommend our "Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em" program as a much more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly method of leaf management!

I have a lot of leaves and every year for 10 years I have mulched with my lawn tractor into my half acre lawn. If you run over several times leaves turn to powder even if very thick. It sure beats raking which I assume most people dislike very much

I use my mower to circle the lawn and keep blowing the leaves to the center of the circle. Once done, most all leaves are mulched and piled up. Those not completely mulched, I continue with the mower discharge blocked and mulch the remaining leaves. I put some in the garden bed and leave the rest on the lawn to feed it. Snow and rain decompose it all winter.

I have not put leaves at the curb for pickup in over 25 years. Every year I "leave my leaves" in my garden beds as much as possible. Alternatively, as I run out of room, I chop them up with my mower or leaf shredder and then put them in my garden beds or mow into the lawn. This not only benefits my soil health, but is great for wildlife.

Leaves: Why Love 'em and Leave 'em

Leaves are a valuable resource that many property owners let go to waste every fall. Leaves are blown into piles on the street and left for DPW pickup. Too often the piles spread out creating a safety hazard for drivers and wash into storm drains, clogging storm sewers. Leaves decaying on the street release nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen (aka "fertilizer") that eventually wash into our rivers.

As a homeowner, landscaper, or property manager, are there better options? Yes! Mulching (shredding) in place is the best and simplest solution. It is easy to learn, easy to implement, gets great points for being "green," and better yet, actually saves time and money!

Mulching-in-Place Is Not New

Follow Mother Nature
Shredding your leaves where they are on the lawn, using shredded leaves as a winter mulch on landscape beds, collecting shredded leaves into compost piles, or simply leaving your leaves under the trees in wooded areas are all examples of using Mother Nature's own time-tested method of turning old leaves into new soil.
Westchester County, NY
The Communities of Westchester County, New York have implemented a successful Leaves: Love 'Em and Leave 'Em program that saves both time and money for property owners every fall since 2012.

The Benefits of Love'em and Leave 'em Leaf Management

Save money! Reduce the need for commercial fertilizers and mulch. (Mulch costs can begin at appr. $30 per cubic yard plus delivery fees. Bagged mulch is even more expensive and environmentally wasteful (all that plastic). It can also sometimes be difficult to find mulch that is not treated with chemical preservatives or dyed.)
Save effort! Mulching (shredding) leaves in-place is much easier and faster than raking and bagging.
Requires less manpower. (Faster, smaller work crews.)
Returns much-needed nutrients to lawn, landscape beds and/or wooded areas.
Supports wildlife providing shelter for the insects that pollinate our gardens, that feed the birds and other wildlife.
Helps retain moisture, reduced need for watering in dry spells and reducing runoff.
Protects landscape beds from frost over the winter and cools root zones in the summer.
Lightens clay soils and gives fluff to sandy soils.
Feeds the soil. Increases biological activity of fungus, earthworms, microbes & beneficial soil organisms.
Grass-cycling (mulching-in-place of lawn clippings) provides similar benefits for turf.

There are also neighborhood- and community-wide environmental and cost benefits of Love 'Em and Leave 'Em:

If you used the Jack Stephan Way Convenience Center in the past, there are now fewer vehicle trips to dispose of fall leaves, so it's better environmentally in terms of less air pollution and fewer gallons of fuel use.
Enjoy quieter, more peaceful time off in your yard because leaf blowers typically need to be used less.
Benefit from less hazardous roadways, because fewer leaf piles spill over onto neighborhood sidewalks and roads.
Helps protect water quality in our streams, lakes, and rivers by keeping decomposing leaves out of storm sewers.
Labor, time, and materials savings at both the municipal and the county level can help reduce operating budgets (and thus provide tax relief).
Eliminates or reduces yard waste from the entering municipal “waste stream.”