The leaves are changing and tumbling down

Village to begin leaf pick up Nov. 1 - paper bags now required Warwick—Ahhh, autumn. It is certainly one of the most beautiful seasons in our area. But once those leaves change into vibrant yellows, reds and oranges, it’s not long before they fall. The Village of Warwick board announced that crews would be picking up bagged leaves beginning Thursday, Nov. 1, and continuing throughout the rest of the year. Only leaves bagged in brown, biodegradable bags will be collected. And now residents must supply their own bags. In years past, the village provided replacement plastic bags to residents when filled bags were collected. Two years ago, the board debated whether to change over to biodegradable paper bags, which generally don’t hold as many leaves and are a little more costly. The problem was that Department of Public Works employees had to cut open and empty into the leaf pile the thousands of plastic bags collected, because which added yet another labor cost to the service. Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable. Last year, the village stopped providing the replacement bags as a cost-cutting measure. This is the first year the village is requiring paper bags. The bags are available locally at home stores and at the big chain home stores. Get raking!