Eliminate La Grange Leaf Pickup Program: Resident

La Grange IL

19 October, 2021

9:48 AM

Description

LA GRANGE, IL — A La Grange resident says it's a waste of money and energy to haul the village's leaves to Indiana, so she is calling for the village to eliminate its leaf pickup program. At last week's Village Board meeting, Stone Avenue resident Rose Naseef said leaves are a valuable resource and that the village should encourage residents to incorporate leaves in their yards. The leaf pickup program, she said, costs the village about $50,000 annually. "Getting rid of fallen leaves doesn't make any sense from an environmental standpoint or an economic standpoint," Naseef told the board. "So why are we using fossil fuels to send them away?" She suggested residents mulch their leaves, using electric mowers, not polluting gas-powered ones. Village President Mark Kuchler said he uses his lawnmower to ground up his leaves and put them into his garden. "I'm only meeting you halfway, though, Rose, because I use a gas-powered mower. Maybe when that one dies, the next one will be electric," Kuchler said. He said the village may want to take some of the leaves that go to Indiana and mix them in with the village's wood chips, making for a "supreme" mulch available for residents. But Kuchler said the village wasn't ready to eliminate the leaf pickup program. "Baby steps sometimes keep us moving forward," he said.