Thoughtful Actions Give Leaf Story a Happy Ending

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November 4, 2010 CONTACT: Damon Joyner, Surface Maintenance Supervisor, 541-682-4835 From Public Information Section, 541-682-5523 or 541-954-2938 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thoughtful Actions Give Leaf Story a Happy Ending It’s not surprising that leaves are big deal in Eugene, considering that billions of them hit the ground every fall in this Tree City USA. Whether all those leaves are great benefit or a huge problem depends a lot on where they end up. There’s no question that Eugene harvests a bumper crop of leaves every year. One study estimates that a single mature tree may have 200,000 leaves, and Eugene’s urban forest has 100,000 trees, many of them deciduous. Another indicator: Eugene Public Works crews last year picked up more than 17,000 cubic yards of leaves – enough to bury a regulation-size football field 10 feet deep! Of course, leaves normally aren’t used to cover football fields. But they make excellent mulch and compost material. Rake them under trees and shrubs or into a pile, where they’ll slowly break down into leaf mold that can hold over 300 times its weight in water, creating a water savings bank for soils during hot summer months. For quick mulch, run a mulching mower over them. Or mix them with food scraps and other organic wastes to create nutrient-rich compost. Because they’re a valuable natural resource, leaves are a hot commodity. More than half of the leaves Public Works crews picked up last year were delivered to private residences, and the rest went to community gardens. None of the leaves went to the landfill. Gardeners want clean leaves. So when putting leaves out to share with others, keep pine needles, sticks and other yard waste and debris out of leaf piles. Leaves also can be recycled by putting them into a yard debris container. A typical container holds a third of a cubic yard. Local waste haulers can provide more information about recycling leaves through the yard debris program. Leaves also can be taken directly to a commercial recycling facility such as Rexius Forest By-Products or Lane Forest Products. Unfortunately, not all leaf stories have a productive ending. Leaves that are placed in the street or that cover sidewalks can be hazardous to cyclists and pedestrians. Leaves that wash down the gutter can plug up catch basins and cause localized flooding. Decomposing leaves in streams and drainage channels rob oxygen from fish and other aquatic life. (more) Public Works Administration ● City of Eugene ● 101 E. Broadway, Suite 400, Eugene, OR 97401 Phone 541-682-8421 ● Fax 541-682-6826 ● www.eugene-or.gov/pw