Dear Recycle Lady,
What can be done with leaves? I have two truckloads of leaves and don’t own a single tree! Tired of Raking Leaves
Dear Tired of Raking Leaves,
Your truckload of leaves, or bagged leaves, can be taken to the Lewisburg Public Works Office located at 396 Feamster Road, across from the Dorie Miller Park in Lewisburg. This bulk leaf drop-off service is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sign in at the New Public Works office, and they will show you where to put your leaves. Bagged leaves will need to be dumped out of the bag onto the leaf pile. Be sure there is no debris or trash mixed in with the leaves as the composted leaves will be used for mulch next spring. This service in not available to commercial lawn services. Call Julie Teubert at 304-645-1833 if you have questions.
For readers who live in Lewisburg, composted leaves can be picked up next spring and used as mulch for your flower beds or vegetable gardens. Be sure to take bags or containers with you when you go next spring to pick up mulch.
Please don’t send your leaves out with the trash. According to the EPA, landfills in 2018 received nearly 11 million tons of leaves and yard clippings. This yard waste breaks down in the landfill and forms methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Never blow your leaves into the road, curb or ditch line as they will clog drains and injection wells and affect local water. If there is foreign debris in your leaves, it can clog grates and prevent water from moving along the street.
Leaves are an excellent soil fertilizer and a good source of organic mulch. So, next year mow your yard instead of raking it. Mowing breaks the leaves up into smaller pieces that will add nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and carbon compounds to your grass that help increase the soil fertility. Since mowed leaves are smaller, they will compost quicker and the recycling process of returning the nutrients to the soil occurs more rapidly. According to ruralsprout.com, mowed dead leaves that are left on the soil help to improve the soil’s structure as they naturally break down over several months. This happens with the help of microorganisms, and it also creates air gaps in the soil.
According to David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the Natural Wildlife Federation, mowed leaves left in your yard will not only add organic material to your lawn or garden but perhaps give small animals some shelter. Leaves raked into plants beds along the edge of your yard can become a wildlife habitat and offer protective cover for overwintering insects and small wildlife. Everything from earthworms, beneficial insects, toads, box turtles and chipmunks can live in this layer of leaves during the winter.
If you have a compost pile or a composter, bag some of the dry leaves to use later during winter. Dry leaves are brown material for your compost and are a good source of carbon.
Dear Recycle Lady,
I have a #1 dark green hand soap bottle with a black plastic pump. Is this bottle recyclable? Recycler
Dear Recycler,
Hold up your dark green bottle to the light. If you can see any light coming through the bottle, it is recyclable with #1 plastic bottles and jugs. If you can’t see some light, it is not recyclable and goes in the trash along with the black plastic pump. The more bottles and jugs that are recycled, the fewer there are that end up in landfills.
Are you familiar with the large variety of products that are made from recycled bottles and jugs? Products range from new bottles to carpeting, tennis balls, insulation for jackets, t-shirts and paint brushes.
Kudos to Mountain Table for reopening the Renick Recycling Center. Working in partnership with Greenworks Recycling they are providing this free service for the community.
Bad News: Scientists discovered that dolphins are exhaling microplastics, tiny plastic particles polluting oceans and now affecting the lungs of marine mammals.
Have questions about recycling, or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to Recyclelady7@gmail.com. Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.
