It won't be long now before most of the leaves have fallen from area trees.  Before you scoop them up and put them in the trash there are some "green" alternatives to consider.

The leaves are just starting to fall.  Now, the town of Irondequoit is bringing back an old plan to do something with them.

"Irondequoit has been one of the few towns that hasn't really had anything for leaves. We have 15 thousand street trees, residents with tons of trees in their backyards and they really do need to do something with the leaves," says Town Supervisor Mary Ellen Heyman. 

So they've got an area blocked off at Camp Eastman. Residents can bring the leaves from their yard and drop them off.   The town will then let the leaves turn to compost and give it back to the residents for their gardens.

"The landfills really can't continue to maintain all those leaves in bags. The waste haulers have actually asked that we try to do something," says Heyman.  Most towns in the area have a plan. Some will even come pick up your leaves.

"We really can't afford to add staff at this point, but what we can do is have them drop their leaves off and then we'll compost them appropriately."  It's best to check with your town or city if you are unsure what to do. But Mary Ellen Heyman says it's important to pick them up- because they can cause a lot of problems. "Leaves can get into the drains, stormwater drains and that's certainly not good, because it just clogs things up, makes for bad rain events people then have basements flood when water can't drain appropriately," she says.  
 

The town of Irondequoit asks that you don't leave any plastic bags with your leaves. Paper bags are okay.

They are going to see if residents use the leaf drop-off program this year, before they decide whether to continue it next year.