Blowing leaves onto the road

[u/Public_Shopping_5950]

Hi,

May be a dumb question but can I use my blower and blow all the leaves onto my side street? My yard is littered in them and I see other homes put them in the garden bags which then they put curbside for garbage day.

I have no issue raking and putting in a bag like my neighbors but do I have to?

[u/blairco]

Yes, you have to. It's against By-Law but also causes all sorts of issues with drainage. There's a reason you see your neighbours doing that.

[u/Fun-Result-6343 → u/blairco]

You can get busted for obstructing a highway. Same for snow.

[u/Sparks_travel]

The best thing is to just run your lawnmower over them and leave on your lawn. Since they’re all my neighbours leaves and I hate their tree that looks like it’s ready to fall, I refuse to pick up as well. I mulch and leave em. It’s a good fertilizer anyway

[u/Ryeguy_626]

You dont need to rake leaves if its neat. Its good compost for the spring

[u/Juiceworld]

This reads like:

I see everyone else doing it the proper way, but I'm lazy and want to make my leaves someone elses problem, you guys ok with that?

[u/timetogo → u/Juiceworld]

It's a simple question, they said they were more than willing to cooperate. It's people like you that have to respond so harshly that make it impossible to improve oneself without being shamed.

[u/Empty-Resource3681 → u/timetogo]

So true, a lot of these folks think they are perfect in every way, which is counter productive, they have zero humility and kindness, just full of judgement.

[u/aaffpp → u/timetogo]

Shame helps short sighted people improve themselves... if you live in society you have obligations.

[u/OakvilleMom]

They will just blow back onto your lawn and everyone else's. Just rake and put in a bag

[u/GhostBustor]

I use my riding lawn mower to mulch them up and leave them to compost over the winter. I used to use a mower with the bag attachment and mulch them and then pour them in yard waste bags. 

Cheaper and less work to mulch them and leave them. 

[u/cihcih]

If you do it on a very windy day, the evidence goes away quickly. Good luck.

[u/anken74]

Yes. You can put the leaves in a garbage pail and use your whipper to shred them and makes them less so you can fit more in the yard waste bag. I don't recommend whipping them in the yard waste bag.

[u/icontactless]

Whatever you choose to do, putting them on the road is not a great idea for anyone. If you have garden or planters, extra leaves make for great insulation, nutrients and it's great for bugs and animals to build their nests 🪴

[u/BramptonRaised]

No. It is not allowed to blow or rake leaves unto the street. It also isn’t wise because 1) leaves blown/raked onto the street end up blocking the storm sewers leading to flooding & 2) when the leaves get wet, the road becomes very slippery, so cars won’t stop as well as they usually do. Help prevent flooding and accidents and keep your fallen leaves off the street. Thank you.

[u/Conscious-Ad8493]

No you cannot blow leaves onto the street. That is not legal

[u/Accomplished_Ad_9558]

You can.....but don't.

[u/Silverlightlive]

It is against by law, but honestly, you are probably not going to be busted.

Why not put them into a compost bin? It's free soil for next year?

I leave them in place. A lot of beneficial insects use them for cover, and nutrients.

Your lawn will be covered in snow just a few weeks from now - how much effort do you really want to put into keeping it looking neat and tidy?

[u/Public_Shopping_5950]

Looks like my answer has been provided, as well as some tips and tricks to make leaf collection easier. Thanks all!

[u/ComprehensiveAir2921]

I get very angry when I see people do it causes us to pick more and bag when it blows to us (we have no trees but we seem to get most of the leaves)

[u/Antman013]

You've already received the correct answer ("NO"), but for future reference, look at the situation in this light . . .

If I were to do _________, and this would cause my neighbour to have to take care of this problem, can I do it without them getting upset?

If the answer is an obvious "NO", then that same answer will ALSO apply to causing "the City" to have to deal with it.

So . . .

You cannot blow your leaves onto a City street, you have to deal with them yourself.

You cannot shovel snow (or use a snowblower) onto a City street (or sidewalk), you have to deal with it yourself.

See the pattern?

[u/OrganizedChaos7121]

If you have no issue doing it, why bother with this post? Stop ragebaiting and just go do it.

Or, better yet, leave them for the ecosystem.