Chesapeake In The Know

In just a few weeks we’re all going to be under a festive layer of colored leaves.  They’re beautiful – until they wreak havoc on our stormwater system!  The absolute worst thing you can do with leaves (and any yard waste for that matter) is rake or blow them into storm drains and ditches.  Leaves create blockages in our stormwater system which can lead to flooding.  They also become an environmental hazard for our local waterways.  As the leaves in the stormwater system decay, they release excess nutrients which can lead to algae blooms and fish kills.  

The best way to deal with leaves is to leave them!  Just mow over your leaves a few times until you get finely chopped leaf confetti.  Those leaf pieces will break down and release essential nutrients to naturally fertilize your yard.  

If you can’t mulch them, put them into clear plastic bags and place the bags at the curb. There is no bulk request required. Normally we only allow 30 bags per residence per week but for November and December, you can place a total of 50 bags of leaves and yard waste at your curb. We’ll be around to pick them up on your regular garbage collection day but with the high volume this time of year, you can expect some delays. Bagged yard waste is collected by a different truck than your brown bin and your household hazardous waste or larger yard waste so don’t be alarmed if you notice that some of your items were collected and some weren’t. A different truck will be coming by. Just leave those bags at the curb and we’ll get to them as soon as we can.