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Along with the fall season comes the relentless falling of leaves, which can cause frustration over what to do with them.
What are Warsaw residents' alternatives for dealing with the leaf problem?
Burning leaves within the city limits is illegal, said Warsaw Street Superintendent Lacy Francis. However, people in the city can rake their leaves to the curb and have them picked up by the street department. The leaves also can be bagged or boxed and picked up on residents' regular trash pickup days.
Residents outside the city limits have few options, Francis said. Leaves can be burned, but people must exercise caution. A better alternative would be composting.
"There's not too many alternatives unless they make a compost site of their own," said Francis.
Marsha Eikenberry, director of the Solid Waste District, has containers called backyard composters available for $35 each. People can throw their table scraps and yard waste into these containers to create their own compost site.
Superior Excavating, Old Road 30, Warsaw, will host a new county compost site. Superior Excavating is accepting yard waste, but there is a small fee. "That's an option for people," said Eikenberry.
Francis said there has been some disobedience about keeping leaves off the curbs, street, and gutter line, in the city. Leaves need to be kept off these areas because they block catch basins and can cause flooding when it rains.
If people do burn their leaves, Indiana Department of Environmental Management stresses the state's rules governing open burning. These rules are:
• Burn only clean-wood products such as leaves and branches.
• Avoid burning during high wind or on pollution alert days.
• Attend fires at all times and remain on-site until the fire is completely extinguished.
• Burn only during daylight hours.
• Use only a non-combustible and ventilated container, such as a metal drum, with enclosed sides and bottom to burn yard waste. Burning on the ground is illegal.
• Never burn in mobile home parks, apartment complexes or buildings containing more than four dwellings.
• Extinguish all fires if they create a fire hazard, nuisance, pollution problem or threat to public health.
• Keep fire equipment, adequate for the size of the fire, nearby.
• Comply with all federal, state and local open burning laws, rules and ordinances.
IDEM cautions residents to always contact their local air pollution control agencies, local fire departments or health departments to check for local laws, rules or ordinances about open burning.
