You’ve thrown another blanket on the bed, unpacked your sweaters from storage and maybe even scraped your first frost from your vehicle’s windows. Yes, the seasons are turning and Fall is in the air. One of Autumn’s rights is raking the fallen leaves in your yard – this can be a time-consuming and back-breaking task, especially with the continual bending over to scoop up the leaves and stuff them into large garbage bags. You might be tempted to just toss a lit match into those gathered piles of leaves instead – wouldn’t burning be far easier, after all?
Yes, but leaf-burning can be dangerous for our environment. Much like the puffing factory smoke stacks, your fire’s billowing smoke leads to air pollution. Furthermore, that smoke from your burning leaves contains both toxic gases and particles. When inhaling these, a person can become quite sick. And, should your gathered leaves remain wet from a recent rain, trying to burn these becomes increasingly difficult and yet more dangerous as even slightly damp leaves produce more smoke.
Yet another associated risk to be aware of is that if you burn your leaves and leave the pile smouldering, carbon monoxide is produced. This dangerous gas is potentially lethal to those who inhale it.
Instead of burning, consider the safer options. You could rake and bag your leaves. If your back is prone to complaining, enlist your children to help with the job. Depending on how much work there is, you could suggest this as a money-making venture where you would pay a fair amount for each bag of leaves tied and carried out to your back lane for garbage pick-up. Another option is composting your leaves. Mix dry leaves with grass clippings and commercial fertilizer. Within a few short weeks, you can use your compost to condition your yard’s soil – it’s easy to do and far easier on our environment.
