DECEMBER 17, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2015, 1:44 PM
BY BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
As the winter solstice approaches, village trees are now nearly barren and another leaf collection season will draw to a conclusion.
The village is winding down its annual No Leaf Left Behind initiative in which leaves are collected from in front of residences by workers raking them into a pile and hauling them away.
It had been a particularly heavy leaf season during the past couple of months with 31,544 cubic yards of leaves already collected through Dec. 1. At that time last year, only 20,567 cubic yards had been collected, an increase of approximately 50 percent. The final round of leaf collection has begun with the final week occurring in Area D on Dec. 18 through Dec. 23.
Ridgewood has been described as a “very leafy town” with an annual collection of 32,000 to 35,000 yards of leaves on 95 miles of road.
This year’s biggest challenge was the amount of leaves that fell after a particularly heavy rainstorm in mid-November. Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said it caused a shift in the schedule.
“I remember walking out of my house and thinking ‘I can’t believe all of the leaves that are out here,'” said Sonenfeld.
In an e-notice sent out to residents, Sonenfeld did note the unusually heavy fall of leaves early in the season. A significant amount of leaves fell in that two- to three-day period after the storm causing some delays, but also made for an easier time of collecting leaves toward the end of the season.
https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/ridgewood-ready-to-wrap-up-leaf-collection-1.1475598
