How To Properly Remove Dead Leaves From Your Yard In Michigan
Last week, we here in lower Michigan were blessed with peak autumn leaf viewing week when the color-turning leaves were at their best colors. The reds, oranges, and yellows were at their brightest, and while it was beautiful at the time, we are now a week past peak and the trees are quickly becoming quite barren.
This means your lawn is about to be even more covered in leaves than at any time this season. While there are plenty of ways you can dispose of those leaves or the dying remains of your flowerbeds, there are a few important ways you can't remove them.
👇SEE THE BEAUTIFUL FALL LEAVES ON THE GRAND RIVER👇
Michigan Yard Waste Removal Laws
Something many Michigan residents do that has actually been illegal since 1990 is putting yard waste in their dumpsters. This yard waste takes up space at landfills and can be harmful to the environment when put through incinerators. You also cannot dump yard waste in the woods, nearby shrubbery, rivers, or bodies of water,
Per Michigan's Anti-littering Law,
Disposing of yard waste in the water is a civil infraction that can be ticketed by local law enforcement and is punishable with fines from $800 to $5,000.
Thankfully, the City of Grand Rapids and the State of Michigan offer plenty of ways to responsibly remove yard waste and offer alternatives like the ones below.
Utilize Yard Waste Services
The City of Grand Rapids offers yard waste services from early April and the 2nd Friday in December. Their services are very affordable and range in size from
- a paper bag for leaves, grass clippings, and small twigs.
- a bulk tag for bundles of large twigs and branches.
- a yard waste cart available to be ordered for large amounts of lawn waste.
Paper bags and bulk tags get placed with your usual trash pickup and are taken care of for you. You can find out how to get all these options here. If you don't want to purchase your own yard waste utilities, many places around Michigan offer public waste drop-off.
Composting
A very eco-friendly and financially friendly option is to use your yard waste to compost. This is nature's way of naturally breaking down matter and works to help revitalize the soil for the next planting season. The best part is that composting is very easy and the State of Michigan has created a helpful guide on how to compost.
Burning
Now for the not-so-eco-friendly and potentially dangerous option: open burning. There are some specific rules you have to follow when performing a burn pile to ensure that the fire will not spread. Open burning may also require a burn permit, which you can check if you need one for your area as well as apply for one here.
Mulching leaves
Then there's the potentially easiest solution of just raking up all your leaves or pulling out the lawn mower and mulching the leaves into small pieces that are small enough to not suffocate the grass during the winter time.
There are plenty of legal and safe ways to dispose of your yard waste and all the dead leaves accumulating on your lawn. My recommendation? Make a life pile and jump in it.
The Grand River During Peak Fall Leaf Changing Time
Gallery Credit: Tommy McNeill
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