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It is Fall and the leaves are falling!
Every year at this time you will see hundreds of bags of leaves and pine needles set out at the curb on trash day. What a waste of natural resources that is! If your trash is picked up by any service other than the City of Houston Solid Waste Department, all those bags will be buried at the landfill. The City actually collects organic waste separately and takes it to a mulching and composting yard where it is recycled.
If you are putting your leaves, grass, and pine needles out for the trash, think of the tons of stuff you are wasting. At 50 pounds per week, a conservative estimate, of organic waste sent to the landfill, you are contributing well over a ton to Mount Atascocita each year.
It is so easy to recycle your green waste. A mulching mower blade and a simple compost heap in the corner of your back yard can reclaim most of the nutrients you paid dearly for with fertilizer, water, and maybe even black mulch. (don’t use that stuff—a whole other story)! When leaves are falling like there is no tomorrow, use a mulching mower and collect them to put around your trees and bushes. If you have a garden, consider just digging them in or mulching your garden with them. If you don’t like that look, consider covering them with a thin layer of hardwood mulch.
If a lawn service does your lawn, make sure they are doing something responsible with all the organic waste they take away from your property. Urge them to mulch as much as possible on your property.