Cape readies to pick up leaves

Piles of leaves border Cape Girardeau city streets this week as public works crews prepare for the monthlong task of hauling away Mother Nature's trash.

It's a daunting job, particularly in the older parts of the city where mature trees blanket lawns with leaves.

"Some parts of town there is just a wall of leaves along the entire length of the street," said Tim Gramling, public works director.

Last year, street crews picked up about 700 tons of leaves. That was down from a record 1,500 tons in 2002.

But Gramling said the decline in tonnage didn't reflect fewer leaves but rather a drier fall. Wet leaves weigh more and are harder to compact, he said. In 2001, 630 tons of leaves were hauled away.

City crews vacuum up the leaves and haul them to the Wilver Wessel farm on Silver Springs Road where they are used for compost.

The annual leaf pickup officially begins Monday and runs through Dec. 10. But city crews began picking up some piles of leaves this week just to make sure the equipment was running properly, Gramling said. "We got all the kinks worked out this week," he said.

As in past years, the city has been divided into four zones. Street crews will spend a week in each zone picking up leaves that residents have raked to the curb.

Starting Monday, crews will be picking up leaves in the southeast part of the city. Crews will be in the northeast part of the city north of Broadway the week of Nov. 22 to 26. Leaves in neighborhoods west of Kingshighway will be picked up the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. Leaves will be hauled off in the north part of the city during the week of Dec. 6 to 10.

If it snows, the leaf collection will take longer, Gramling said.

The schedule allows crews to better vacuum up piles of leaves in residential areas near Southeast Missouri State University during Thanksgiving week, when students typically are gone and there are fewer cars parked on the streets near the campus.

Over the next four weeks, the city will employ 18 full-time public works staff and 10 to 12 part-time workers to pick up the leaves, as well as six vacuum machines.

Two of the vacuum machines are new this year. "Basically being newer, they should be a lot more reliable," Gramling said.

Vacuuming up leaves takes its toll on the equipment, he said. As a result, the city typically gets about five years of use out of a vacuum machine before having to replace it.

Jackson has a leaf collection program too. But unlike Cape Girardeau, Jackson hauls leaves off two weeks each month. Jackson residents must bag up the leaves. The city then collects the leaves and dumps them at a private compost site.

There's no leaf collection program in Scott City.

Gramling said Cape Girardeau residents who don't want to pile up leaves in their front yards should consider mulching the leaves. "That is probably the best as far as the environment is concerned," he said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources discourages burning leaves. DNR officials said it creates soot which can irritate eyes and breathing, and lead to coughing, teary eyes, a runny nose and sneezing.

Some cities forbid open burning of yard waste. But Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City all allow their residents to burn leaves seven days a week.

Jackson residents are supposed to notify the city when they plan to burn leaves. The same holds true in Scott City. In Cape Girardeau, prior notification isn't needed.

"We would encourage people to use common sense," said Cape Girardeau fire marshal Mike Morgan.

Residents can't leave the fire unattended and they should have a rake or garden hose handy to help control the fire, he said.

The fire should be at least 25 feet away from any building, Morgan said.

There have been times in past years when burning leaves have ignited buildings, he said.

While Cape Girardeau allows residents to burn leaves, the city's fire department discourages it.

"We would like to see nobody burn any leaves," Morgan said. "It just adds to the pollution of the air."

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123