The old-fashioned practice of burning leaves not only pollutes our air and causes health problems, it also wastes many of the beneficial micronutrients contained in leaves. We recommend that homeowners mulch leaves into their lawn with a mulching mower when practical, or compost leaves for later use in the garden. For those who can't mulch leaves or don't garden, municipal curbside pickup is usually provided during the fall leaf season.
Leaf burning leads to air pollution, health problems, and fire hazards.
Each autumn, homeowners across the United States rake up fallen leaves from their lawns. In the past, people routinely took leaves and other yard trimmings to landfills or relied on waste pick-up services for disposal of the leaves. Because of increasingly scarce landfill space, many State and local governments now ban leaves and other yard trimmings from landfills. With this option removed, there is a growing concern that homeowners may be tempted to burn the leaves in their yards. Leaf smoke also contains carbon monoxide.