The majority of the Greensboro City Council supports doing away with loose leaf collection.
However, Greensboro residents who like the current loose leaf collection program will get at least one more year of raking their leaves to the street and having them picked up by the city.
At the Thursday, Aug. 10 work session in the Plaza Level Conference Room, Deputy City Manager Chris Wilson said that there was no way the city could implement the new leaf and yard waste collection system recommended by city staff this year. The new system calls for each residence to be issued a 95 gallon yard waste bin, which will be the same as the bins currently used for garbage and recycling, with the notable exception that the yard waste bin will be gray.
Wilson said that the yard waste bins would have to be ordered and the earliest the new system could be put in place was in the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2024.
The City Council did agree that plastic yard waste bags should be banned and that should be done this fall, perhaps as early as September. So those residents who have plastic yard waste bags should use them up as soon as possible.
The new system calls for each residence to receive a 95 gallon yard waste bin, and for excess yard waste, such as leaves that won’t fit in the bin, residents will be required to use biodegradable paper bags that cost about 50 cents each. During most of the year people will be allowed to place 10 biodegradable paper bags of yard waste on the street for weekly collection. During the leaf season, from Nov. 1 to the second week in February, the limit will be raised to 15 bags per week.
Wilson said that once the new system is in place, leaves raked to the street would be considered a “nuisance” and would be dealt with in the same fashion as other code violations, which means fines and penalties.
Anyway they can they will try to make it more difficult for the citizens of Greensboro. This is the stupidest idea that could be. I know they will say that it is being done in other cities, but I bet none of these cities show a 30% tax rate increase. In another statement I saw that the city made was that only a certain percent used the city pick up and for that reason it was not considered important. How does that read? Taxpayers are not important, unless your numbers meet our requirement? It was also mentioned that the city could not find people to man the trucks. This city cannot manage anything other than spend taxpayer money to please just a few parties, and I am sure it is not hard to figure out who these people are. I bet none of the city council members in favor of this mess even have a yard or their yards are in their HOA fees.
I have a neighbor who gave up bagging after 60 bags of leaves. He raked the others to the curb. The pile looked like he had never bagged any at all.
No way someone is going to get that many leaves into a weekly pickup of one container.
It is easier for older people to rake than than to stoop and pick up.
We got rid of all of the trees on our property except the backyard ones in the very back. Kept splitting with ice, getting struck by lightning, going into our water lines, etc.
Glad we did that before this took place, although just the brush we trim from bushes would fill up a container in one week. Are they going to pick up those in those containers, or are they going to have to be dealt with separately?
Still more answers needed.
In addition to the 95 gallon container, residents would be permitted to fill 10 (biodegradable) bags every week throughout the year and 15 bags every week during leaf pickup season. But it is unclear if they will still accept other reusable yard waste containers. This is also not set in stone.
Glad to see the city figuring out how to suck more money from the citizens. Has council considered how hard it may be for seniors? I have issues getting my current green and brown cans to the street due to leg issues and old age. Now I can get another can instead of using my lawn mower bagger lined with a plastic bag. Thanks council. Your pixie dust continues to amaze me.
The city will continue to offer assistance to residents that have difficulty getting their toters to the street. “Assistance Needed? If you have a disability or difficulty moving your residential trash container to and from the curb, contact the City’s Contact Center at 336-373-CITY (2489).” Source: https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/field-operations/trash
How much will the tax rate be reduced due to the reduction in cost due to not picking up yard waste? Will the city manager and the field manager receive a reduction in pay due to reduced responsibilities?
Lol. I’m not sure how you got “the city will not be picking up yard waste” from this. Yard waste collection will continue to be a weekly service. They are just trying to get people to stop raking leaves to the curb. Residents were up in arms last year about how behind the city was in loose leaf collection and all of the issues that causes (clogged sewer drains, narrowed roads, dead grass, etc.). But now everyone is going to be up in arms about this very standard solution.
It’s obvious that city council members don’t live in old established neighborhoods with yards full of mature trees or they are well off enough to hire a professional yard maintenance company to handle their leaves. Or they live in condos or newer neighborhoods that have all the trees removed before construction.
It seems they could designate older treed neighborhoods as exempt from these new regulations.
I also take care of my handicapped daughters home that’s inundated with tons of leaves from a neighbors yard every year. Who’s going to take care of those leaves? Oh, I know, me!
Well, that’s a relief. The city’s track record on code enforcement is terrible at best. So I wouldn’t worry about being cited for leaf infractions.
I think the council qualifies for “fines and penalties”.
Let’s see now if I have this right; you have failed citizens on law enforcement; you’ve raised property taxes and now no leaf collection.
At what time did you decide that the average citizen is to be burdened with yet more cost paired with a continuous degradation in services?
This will have a negative impact on disadvantaged residents, the disabled (can’t pack leaves in plastic lawn bags) with the additional financial burden of paying a third party to remove leaves from their property.
I realize that this will fall on deaf ears but I have an obligation to voice my concerns. Because I feel the absence of representation I will bear in mind your priorities when I vote. Presumably that will be cost free or do you have a bin for that as well.
Mr. Davies,
You need to very careful. You are espousing common sense and logic, something They Who Must Be Obeyed cannot and will not stand for that.
Look up the addresses of Council members and you may find why the members are personally worry-free when it comes to leaf collection. A surefire way to solve the leaf problem is for the city to pay to remove all the oaks, maples, poplar and all other tall, leaf-bearing, deciduous trees in Greensboro, starting in Irving Park and Starmount. Let’s not overlook Green Hill Cemetery. This way the “green” can be taken out of Greensboro.
First it was no glass bottle recycling because it was too expensive. Now we can’t use plastic bags because the environment. Before this plan goes into effect I want to see Mayor Vaughan or Sharon Hightower fill that plastic can 2-3 dozen times and tell me it still makes sense.
For a city that is consumed by the marginally impacted they aren’t considering the impact on elderly, disabled, and those who cannot afford a lawn service.
Maybe it’s finally time to admit the wokesters on the City Council will have their way and we must all face the consequences. I will probably save more than they believe they will by just leaving all the dead leaves in my yard and abandoning my lawn to nature. Eventually many of the leaves will be blown or washed into the street by weather or passing motorists so I am not sure how lucrative it will be for the City to pursue and punish those offenders. I’m confident my “natural” yard would be defended against any nuisance law by the Sierra Club or some other well-funded environmental group, although the City’s cost of the lawsuit would probably be high, based on most of its previous litigation results. But who knows. Maybe Matt Brown will save the day by pointing out the economic benefit in leaf collection and add it to his entertainment venues…
Hooray. Now if they could only ban noisy gas leaf blowers we could all have a little more peace. Leaving your leaves on your yard is not only healthy for the grass but healthy for the ground as well and for the insects that help your yard. It protects the yard from cold weather, keeps moisture in the ground instead of drying it out and also makes for some nice mulch come spring. Of course no one believes this, old habits die hard. My only issue with this is I wish that the gray one was for trash, the green one was for recycling, and the brown one was for the yard waste. But common sense and government tend not to be good bed fellows.
Sounds like the council doesn’t understand what a problem an excess of leaves can be. Maybe everyone should drop off whatever doesn’t fit in this yard waste bin on their doorstep so they can get an idea…
Very good idea.
They’re just creating more work for the code enforcement people & the fire department. When you pave over the earth, there’s nowhere for things to go naturally.
Instead of paying for bins, why not just add a few seasonal jobs and cut off the bags before they get to any equipment or the environment? Maybe some of the unemployed homeless we hear so much about could fill those positions or those working off DUI community service.
You are describing a very inefficient, labor-intensive, and potentially dangerous process for the workers who handle yard waste. And on top of that, you are suggesting that we pull people off the streets or who are in trouble for substance abuse issues to operate heavy machinery. Lawsuits cost the tax payers money too.
Polly Pocket, you sound like a city employee.
coPasetical, by your response, easy to see you are not a master gardener. Removing fallen leaves depends on variables: The number of leaves, size of leaves and if the leaves block sunlight to the grass. There is no one right answer to the benefit of leaving fallen leaves in a yard. Drive through Irving Park and Starmount after all the leaves have fallen and you will see leaf-free lawns.
Greensboro’s announced policy on Loose Leaf Pick-up is a political hot potato. I sent a communication to my Councilman recommending a course of action to study current practices, consequences, benefits and alternatives. My proposal suggested assembling the right folks in a room to discuss and debate the issue comprehensively. I received a pleasant response only saying the council was looking into the issues. For those families living in densely forested areas, the only option will be to hire a contractor to remove the leaves in bulk. It would require me to load over 100 bags to comply with city regs. I can afford the bags. I cannot afford the time to load the bags. The city will discover that their plan will unwind. The current plan responds to the loudest voices with the most money. It has not sought out the best pathway for the most people and for the environment. The only solution for those frustrated by Council action on Loose Leaf Pickup is to elect responsive council reps. I am against the current bagging proposal and would be glad to explain why if the council cared to listen to its constituents.
I only recently learned that the city of Greensboro will end loose leaf collection. My first impression was that this is a disaster about which those who made these changes have zero clue. Residents and property owners do the work of getting the leaves to the curb, but I’m guessing that there are not enough people willing to do the physical labor required to remove the leaves from the curb. … Truly, the decision makers here are completely out of touch with reality. …
Do the people who made this decision even have trees? Have they EVER seen how many leaves a yard full of trees produces? Bagging that many leaves is an utterly absurd joke, which is typical of clown-world leadership unfortunately.
The city refuses to spend the money and exert the effort required to do curbside pickup properly and ENFORCE it — WHOAHH, that would be way to much work and expense! “Let’s force the citizens to do ALL the work and bear MORE expense, and entertain them with a virtue-signaling, rainbow dream-world scenario of bagging acres of leaves, to pretend show them that we are conscious and care.”
I think I speak here for many. … Fortunately, I started mulching all my leaves two years ago, using them as compost and mulch. I strongly recommend that others take such measures to avoid the coming hardships of this new, unrealistic city procedure. And, yeah, do we get a reduction in taxes now?