Residential yard waste is among the biggest sources of stormwater pollution – especially during this time of the year, when large amounts of leaves fall from trees.
When doing yardwork, do not push leaves into streets or into stormwater drains. Keep sidewalks and driveways clear of leaves.
Collect or bag leaves for solid waste disposal. Leaves also can be used for organic composting to create a natural fertilizer for yards and plantings.
Notify landscape contractors to bag all yard debris or to mulch it within your yard.
Leaves and other yard debris wash along streets with each rainfall into municipal stormwater drains and other collection systems. Many drains flow out to lakes and ponds, where the yard waste adds excessive nutrients to the water.
Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus trigger heavy growth of algae, which clouds the water and blocks needed sunlight. This degrades the health of lakes and reduces natural habitat for fish and wildlife.
The City of Maitland operates street sweepers to collect debris, but these vehicles often cannot keep up with all the excess yard pollution from hundreds of local properties. City crews must regularly clean debris from storm drains.
Please help to keep Maitland’s lakes beautiful.