Fall Leaves and Pumpkins: A Guide to Mulching and Composting
As the crisp fall air settles in, the vibrant colors of autumn leaves fill our yards and pumpkins grace our porches. While many of us enjoy the seasonal beauty, the inevitable task of raking leaves and discarding pumpkins can feel like a chore. But instead of tossing them in the trash, why not turn them into an opportunity to nurture your garden and reduce waste? Mulching and composting these fall treasures can have lasting benefits for your landscape and the environment.
Mulching Leaves: A Natural Blanket for Your Lawn
Raking leaves can be a time-consuming, task. Instead of bagging up those leaves and sending them off to the landfill, consider mulching them directly into your lawn or garden. This helps the leaves break down naturally, adding rich organic matter to the soil.
Simply use a mulching mower or a lawnmower with a mulch setting to shred the leaves into smaller pieces. The fine, shredded leaves will decompose quickly, improving soil structure, promoting healthy grass growth, and helping retain moisture—especially important as the weather gets colder. You can also mulch leaves around garden beds to protect perennials and add nutrients to the soil over the winter months.
Composting Leaves and Pumpkins: Turning Waste Into Black Gold
Both leaves and pumpkins make excellent additions to your compost pile. Leaves are rich in carbon, making them a perfect companion to the nitrogen-rich materials like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, or coffee grounds that are often composted.
Pumpkins are another valuable source of organic material that can enrich your compost. Simply chop the pumpkins into smaller pieces to help them break down faster and mix them with your other compostable materials. The result? A nutrient-dense compost that can boost the health of your garden soil come spring.
Why Choose Mulching or Composting?
Opting to mulch or compost your fall debris has significant environmental benefits. Instead of contributing to landfill waste, you’re creating a valuable resource that enriches the soil beneath your feet. Mulching adds nutrients back into your lawn and composting produces valuable organic material that can improve soil health for years to come.
As you rake those golden leaves and carve those pumpkins, remember that they don’t have to be just waste—they can be transformed into sustainable resources for your garden. Visit us at acswd.org If you’d like to purchase a compost bin or learn more about composting.
The 5th Annual Repair Fair organized by Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub, Hamilton County ReSource, and Imago will be hosted at the Hamilton County/Cincinnati Downtown Main Library! This is an event for sharing knowledge, building community, and bringing in your broken household items. The event is Saturday, June 21st, 12-4pm.
Because, if it’s broken, fix it! We can’t promise that we’ll get everything working again, but you will learn how stuff works and meet others who want to keep items in their care and out of landfills.
Our varied “fixers” will work alongside you to work with your:
Please do NOT bring:
Join our effort to minimize waste and get to know the organizations that are making our city greener.
For more information click HERE
On Wednesday, September 25, 2024 the public recycling drop-off containers at Epiphany United Methodist Church, located at 6635 Loveland Miamiville Road were moved back to their original location at Miami Township Fire Station 27 (6492 Branch Hill Guinea Pike). The recycling containers were temporarily located on the church property while infrastructure improvements were made in the area of the firehouse.
Reminder: Only paper/cardboard, plastic bottles/cups, aluminum/steel cans, and glass bottles are accepted for recycling at any of the 28 public drop-off sites in Clermont County. All cardboard boxes need to be flattened and free of any packing material. Styrofoam, rigid plastics, clothing or trash are NOT permitted at any of the public recycling drop-off locations. Curbside recycling is also available in this area – contact your waste hauler for pricing and additional information. For a complete listing of accepted recyclable material CLICK HERE.
On Aug. 28, 2024 the public recycling drop-off containers at the Goshen Twp. Fire Station (6765 Goshen Rd.) were temporarily relocated due to demolition/construction at the fire station property. The new temporary location of the containers is the vacant lot on the corner of St. Rt. 28 and Goshen Rd. (6785 Goshen Rd.). The recycling containers are expected to be moved back to the new Goshen Township Fire Station sometime in 2025 after construction/renovations are completed.
Reminder: Only paper/cardboard, plastic bottles/cups, aluminum/steel cans, and glass bottles are accepted for recycling at any of the 28 public drop-off sites in Clermont County. All cardboard boxes need to be flattened and free of any packing material. Styrofoam, rigid plastics, clothing or trash are NOT permitted at any of the public recycling drop-off locations. Curbside recycling is also available in this area – contact your waste hauler for pricing and additional information. For a complete listing of accepted recyclable material CLICK HERE.
In December, 2023 the public recycling drop-off containers at the Amelia CVS (52 W Main Street, Amelia) were permanently removed per request of the property manager. Other nearby sites are still available to the public, including one located at the Pierce Township Service Department at 950 Locust Corner Road, at the Village of Batavia public parking lot at 289 Main Street. Pierce and Batavia Township residents are encouraged to utilize curbside recycling, which is available to them no additional cost. Pierce Township residents can CLICK HERE to set up curbside recycling service, and Batavia Township residents can CLICK HERE to set up curbside recycling service.
Reminder: Only paper/cardboard, plastic bottles/cups, aluminum/steel cans, and glass bottles are accepted for recycling at any of the 27 public drop-off sites in Clermont County. All cardboard boxes need to be flattened and free of any packing material. Styrofoam, rigid plastics, clothing or trash are NOT permitted at any of the public recycling drop-off locations. For a complete listing of accepted recyclable material CLICK HERE.
Thanks to a partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, campground users at East Fork State Park and Stonelick State Park now have convenient access to recycling thanks to the addition of two public drop-off recycling dumpsters. The recycling dumpsters feature signage that clearly explains which items are acceptable: aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, most plastic and paper cups, as well as mixed paper and cardboard. Plastic bags, Styrofoam, furniture, clothing, and household trash are not accepted.
The Stonelick State Park container is located near the camper check-in lot in Wayne Township, and the East Fork State Park container is located in the camper check-in lot in Williamsburg Township. Both containers complement the existing recycling drop-off containers located at the State Park Administrative Office in Tate Township. The addition of these two recycling drop-off dumpsters brings the total number of public recycling drop-off locations in Clermont County to 27.
Every year nearly 8 million tons of leaves end up buried in landfills across the United States. Due to a lack of oxygen, those leaves are unable to decompose quickly and instead release methane gas. However, when fallen leaves are left in your yard they can decompose faster and leave behind organic matter that greatly enhances soil health. Leaves are full of nutrients that will make your lawn thrive, including potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. While ditches, driveway culverts, and storm drains still need to be kept clear of leaves and other debris to prevent flooding, wildlife and lawn experts agree that when it comes to your lawn it is usually better to skip the raking and bagging and leave those leaves in place!
Chopping up blankets of leaves with a lawn mower may be necessary to thin out the material and break the leaves down quickly. This is important because thick layers of leaves left on your lawn blocks out the sunlight which is needed for photosynthesis. Excess leaves can be raked around trees and shrubs in 3 – 6 inch deep piles or into a landscape bed or garden and used for mulch. Combining fallen leaves with grass clippings and other organic green material can also produce nutrient-rich compost.
CLICK HERE to learn more about home composting, or CLICK HERE to learn more about other leaf and yard waste disposal options in Clermont County.
The Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District’s efforts to promote proper recycling at its 45 public drop-off sites has been catching residents attention for a while, and also recently caught the attention of the Ohio EPA (OEPA). The Solid Waste District’s successful ongoing campaign was featured in the OEPA’s “Scraps of Wisdom” winter newsletter, which shares program highlights, best practices, and case studies for solid waste management districts and local health departments.” To read the full version of the OEPA newsletter article CLICK HERE
