It's the time of year when the leaves are falling, and, once again, many fires are being lit, often in violation of Indiana law, by, I suspect, persons who consider themselves law-abiding citizens.There are strict Indiana state-wide regulations on leave burning (it must be in a container, with a wire-mesh cover, and the weather conditions must be appropriate, see: http://www.wrtfd.org/openburning.htm for a summary of Indiana law). Inside the city limits of Warsaw and Winona Lake, of course, citywide pickup provides a very helpful means of recycling: the leaves are composted and are available as wonderful soil-enriching material in the spring.
If you live outside of the city limits, however, it seems that the preferred disposal method is to burn the leaves. This has at least two negative effects: it pollutes the air; and persons with breathing difficulty or allergic reaction can suffer significant difficulty due to poor air quality. On occasion, in our neighborhood, it's been so severe that we have had to leave the house for several hours until the smoke cleared, only to return to a house with a very stinky, lingering odor. We have also seen the leaves piled on asphalt roads and burned there, degrading the road surface and making repair necessary earlier than normal (burning on a roady way is, apparently, an offense punishable by fine).
There's a better way: compost your leaves. All it takes is making a pile of leaves in one corner of your yard. If you garden, or even if you don't but have some shrubs or trees, composting your leaves will deliver, come spring (or if you have oaks, a couple of springs), some wonderful soil-enriching compost to spread on your garden or shrubs. You also can save on fertilizer; compost will reduce your reliance on chemicals. In nature, the leaves fall, compost, and feed the very trees from which they fell. We can learn from this.
