Fall leaf bags

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! So it's the season where suburbia will be putting their leaves in bags for municipality to pick up, anyone know if I can take a few? I'd like to use in garden and in the chicken run... Am I overthinking it that some could be harmful .. with pesticides? We don't spray anything on our property..

Thoughts?

 

[Ted Brown]

Not an expert and guessing...

In the fall I gather great amounts of leaves from my property and put them in the run, my flock goes nuts and spends days tromping them down and eating the bugs that come along with them. Also adds very beneficial organic material to the run.

The leaves are on the trees and, it seems to me, very unlikely to have been sprayed with anything unless they come from fruit trees. Guessing most are very safe for whatever use you have for them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Talk to your neighbors and ask if they have any treatments done around their yards, and if it's ok to take the bags - I doubt most people would object as they generally have to pay extra to have the excess bags removed.

I admit I only use my own chips and my own dried leaves so I don't have to question if there's anything questionable about them.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Talk to your neighbors and ask if they have any treatments done around their yards, and if it's ok to take the bags - I doubt most people would object as they generally have to pay extra to have the excess bags removed.

I admit I only use my own chips and my own dried leaves so I don't have to question if there's anything questionable about them.

These aren't my neighbors, however I work near an affluent area and remember seeing the bags before covid. Should I call municipality?

 

[aart]

If leaves aren't completely dried before bagging, there's a huge chance of molds multiplying to toxic levels.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Thank you @aart !

 

[rosemarythyme]

These aren't my neighbors, however I work near an affluent area and remember seeing the bags before covid. Should I call municipality?

That's a bit tougher. Legally you can't steal garbage (even though it's set out for disposal). I know there's at least 1 person on here who has their entire street set out leaf litter for them to pick up, but that's obviously an organized effort and not the same as what you're hoping to do.

Aart also brings up a good point that I forgot - when I bag my leaves, because I plan on keeping them for the run and composting, I'm always making sure they're dry before bagging, and very loosely bagged so air keeps circulating inside. You don't know what condition someone else would bag their leaves in. If they're freshly raked up it should be fine to use immediately, but if they're bagged wet and sit around they will mold.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Legally you can't steal garbage (even though it's set out for disposal).

Really? Why not?
They always say on TV once you put it on the curb it's free gain. You know like on the shows where the cops dig through people's trash and such.

 

[NatJ]

Legally you can't steal garbage (even though it's set out for disposal).

Really? Why not?
They always say on TV once you put it on the curb it's free gain. You know like on the shows where the cops dig through people's trash and such.

A quick google search says that trash-picking or dumpster diving is not illegal at the national level in the USA (many pages referenced the Supreme Court Decision California vs. Greenwood in 1988). But I also saw numerous notes about local rules that would make it illegal in certain places.

These aren't my neighbors, however I work near an affluent area and remember seeing the bags before covid. Should I call municipality?

I think calling the municipality is a good idea. They should be able to tell what rules (if any) apply in their area. And if you do need permission, hopefully they will be able to tell whose permission you need (each homeowner? the leaf-removal service? some municipal official?)

 

[The Moonshiner]

A quick google search says that trash-picking or dumpster diving is not illegal at the national level in the USA

D@mn it. There goes my chance of being some kind of outlaw.