GREENSBORO, N.C. — Few things have stirred up as much controversy in Greensboro as what to do with your leaves. Changes to the city's yard waste program got strong reactions.
Frustration has boiled over so much, thousands have signed a petition demanding a change. The city pushed back against those complaints, saying that ending the loose-leaf collection program has made Greensboro roads clearer and safer.
The new policy requires homeowners to collect their leaves, bag them, and leave them curbside for pickup, or hire someone to do it. But not everyone is happy about the change.
With the last leaves falling, the city said the new loose-leaf policy is working. Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter said only 23% of homeowners used the previous program.
"It just made more sense to try to consolidate and see what staff could do and they brought us back this proposal," Abuzuaiter said. "And yes, some of us are getting some major pushback on it. But I think in the long run they're gonna see that the roads are clear."
In years past, the city would swing by homes twice a season to pick up leaves. However, Abuzuaiter says the city would have to pull staff from other departments to fulfill it and it got to the point, where too many people were complaining that streets were full with leaves.
"We were only able to staff that enough to have two leaf pickups per year, the fact that we now have a full-time staff for yard waste as it should be as it has been."
Abuzuaiter also said the city anticipates the program will save taxpayer money in the long run. With the burden falling on homeowners to clean up their yards the city said it's seeing less leaves piling up in the street.
Which carried over to a dramatic drop in clogged drains around the city.
"This year, we have only had four, we have only had four storm drain backups. And to me, that is saving a lot of taxpayer money because you're not having to have that whole crew go out. Number one to find out where it is. Number two do to use all the equipment to unclog it."
Taylor Krumroy started an online petition last year to save the loose-leaf collection program. He brought it back last week and now has thousands of signatures.
"The amount of, you know, leaves I had was just, it was just proven impossible," Krumroy said. "It worked like for about the 1st 2 to 3 weeks. And then after that, I just got overwhelmed."
Krumroy now pays $300 to clean up his yard. He's frustrated homeowners didn't get a chance to vote on the change.
"Let's just get the public to vote on this," he said. "You know, let's see where we really are."
The city said homeowners aren't responsible for leaves that naturally fall in front of their homes. However, they can't blow them to the curb and expect city pickup.
While Krumroy understands that's the written rule he worries it'll prove difficult for the city to determine which leaves naturally fall in front of homes and which are deliberately blown into the road.
"How are they gonna differentiate ... the canopy over the road it's just, I mean it's all of our leaves," Krumroy said. "Even if I do pile leaves out there, my pile blows down to the neighbor's yard, you know? And it all goes down the hill."
The city also said people who don't follow the new policy could face fines. It hasn't fined anyone yet and hope it doesn't come to that.
If a code enforcer sees a leaf pile up they'll speak with the homeowner about the new rules, giving them 14 days to clean up the loose leaves. Then if that city employee returns 14 days after that the city could issue a $500.
Rich Cook, who owns Big Star Pressure Washing, added leaf collection to his services. He said the streets look cleaner this year compared to last year.
He said having leaves sit around and collect along the street can be dangerous. A problem he said isn't happening much at all this year.
"It was real bad because the city they'd come around twice in a season," Cook said. "So you've got piles of leaves that have sat out there in the rain, in the cold, and they've frozen, and it was, it was actually a lot worse last year than what it is this year as far as what's on the ground."
The city of Greensboro shared the following data on the new yard waste program:
- Zero accidents or employee injuries to date
- Operating 15 trucks per day instead of 38
- Employees work four 10-hour days per week instead of six 8-hour days
- No missed service streets
- No employee overtime
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