Applause to the City! (and I mean it!)
I came home yesterday to a robo call message from our Mayor where he is reminding everybody about the great advantages of the Love’em and Leave ’em program.
This program is about letting nature be nature. Instead of treating leaves and grass cuttings as garbage by carting them off, mulch them and keep the nutrients right in your own lawn.
This program is fabulous, saves tremendous money and reduces pollution.
Go and check it out at
http://www.leleny.org/
If every municipality got behind this program the way New Rochelle does, Westchester would be an (even) better place to live.
The waste is the money we leaf at the curb.
Anna,
The waste is also of our tax dollar on poor planning,
Promoting is one thing action is yet another. One robo call does not a program make. Where in the call does it state that the bagged leaves will sit for several weeks before the first pick up? I agree that this is a good program; they need to take things further than a promotion for Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em. More can and should be done to be more fiscally responsible and see that doing the same thing the same way does not affect change in the environment or the financial problems in New Rochelle. This program is good where applicable. It does/would save money while also reducing pollution, less trucks burning fuel and less man hours burning a hole in the taxpayer’s wallets.
Under the current plan, the last actual day of leaf and yard waste pick-up was October 8th. If residents even just bagged their leaves that means the bagged leaves and yard waste will sit in front of resident’s homes for several weeks before they are picked up. In what way, shape and form does this promote or encourage the residents to bag their leaves. Most get tired of the bags sitting in front of their homes and take the easy way out. Pile them by the curb. I have seen the leaf piles increase every year on my street because of this practice. Many of my neighbors and their gardeners once bagged regularly. Also without the weekly pick up, the gardeners are also putting the lawn clippings in with the leaves and no longer bagging them because of this practice. After a week the bags start to break down and fall apart, get knocked over and broken up. There needs to be some type of middle ground here to encourage the residents to bag rather than pile their leaves. This is not it. I mulch them into my tomato garden and flower beds or put them in a container that will hold until the next pick up. I don’t have the same amount of leaves as everyone else and four weeks of bags and containers is a long time.
“Bagged Leaves: Leaves should be placed in biodegradable 30-40 gallon paper bags or open containers weighing no more than 75 pounds. Citywide pickup of bagged leaves will occur on the following six Saturdays: November 9rd, 16th, 23rd and December 7st, 14th 21st. Leaves placed in plastic WILL NOT be collected”.
I am not saying spend more money to do more pick-ups. I am saying we could actually save money by doing less. I think with all the manpower hours available in the day/week there should be a common sense way to deal with the leaves. In residential areas maybe go to once a week garbage pick-up or use the holiday schedule every other week using the extra day for leaves until the new leaf collection schedule kicks in. Actually create a new schedule and system for pick up. The colder weather holds the garbage longer so there is no smell if the garbage sits for an extra day or two. There is a way, someone just needs to want to change the ways of the past regarding the manpower usage and distribution of assets. By god, they are only leaves; it should not be that difficult!
See the full notice from the city web site:
http://www.newrochelleny.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=663
Fall Leaf Collection begins on Tuesday, October 15 and concludes at the end of December. Leaves must be either raked to the curb and stacked in long windrows, or bagged for pickup following the guidelines below. As an alternative to raking or bagging, the City is also encouraging property owners to mulch mow their leaves through the “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” campaign.
Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em: Mulch mowing leaves (shredding in place) is easier and faster than raking or blowing them to the curb. Mulch mowing recycles nutrients into the soil to feed lawns and gardens, providing a free natural fertilizer. A live demonstration will take place on November 2 at Glenwood Lake Park. For more information, visit newrochelle.leleny.org .
Bagged Leaves: Leaves should be placed in biodegradable 30-40 gallon paper bags or open containers weighing no more than 75 pounds. Citywide pickup of bagged leaves will occur on the following six Saturdays: November 9rd, 16th, 23rd and December 7st, 14th 21st. Leaves placed in plastic WILL NOT be collected.
Curbside Collection: Leaves should be raked into neat piles near the curb lines of properties to facilitate pick up. Cars should not be parked on top of or near leaf piles. Branches and debris should not be mixed with leaves to avoid damaging City equipment. Leaf piles should never be placed near catch basins or fire hydrants. It is also important that they do not block traffic lanes, causing vehicles to veer into oncoming traffic. Residents are responsible for making sure that their gardeners follow the rules.
Effective October 15, 2013, Alternate Side of the Street sweeping will end. Alternate Side of the Street parking rules WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT to expedite the removal of leaves.
For further information, call the Leaf Removal Hot Line at 654-6510. For other inquiries or concerns, call 235-4029, Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.
With the onset of leaf collection, yard waste collection is suspended until spring.
“Common Sense for the Common Good”