Fall across the country can be a picturesque time of year due to the beauty of the changing tree canopy. However, falling leaves can also mean a lot of work for city and town street departments. The town of Bozeman, Mont., has found a creative approach to managing leaf collection in the form of baling.

Bozeman Streets Division Superintendent John Van Delinder said the method is unconventional but effective in terms of cost savings and sustainability.

“Every fall around this time, we’ve got a pretty good, healthy urban forest,” he said during a late-October interview. “So all the leaves start falling off this time of year. We allow the people in our core area of our town to rake their leaves from their yards … out into the street.”

The urban forest provides many economic, environmental and social benefits and is an essential part of a city’s infrastructure. Urban trees also increase property values, reduce crime, provide wildlife habitat and strengthen a community’s sense of place. However, more deciduous trees mean more leaves and more work for the already strained city crews.

Van Delinder said his crew’s current approach reflects three years of innovation. Initially, his department was trying to find a way to collect organic waste more efficiently. When leaves enter storm drains, they can create a bottleneck. If a clog freezes during the winter months, there’s a risk of damage to the gutters.

However, Bozeman residents can rest a little easier knowing that street crews are on the front lines of preserving infrastructure.

“About three years ago, we started thinking (about how to streamline) operations and make fewer trips up to our compost pile here in town where we take our leaves on a truck,” he said. “Being an agricultural community, we know about baling straw, so we came up with that idea. We pick up probably 250 to 300 bales, and they weigh about a ton a piece.”

The collection’s scope is not modest and can take longer depending on the weather conditions. If the leaves aren’t too wet, Van Delinder said the whole collection process can take nearly a month to accommodate the needs of the community of about 50,000.

Overall, the public sentiment has been positive, and he attributes that to the city’s public engagement efforts.

“We feel our residents always wonder what we’re doing next,” he said. “We’ve tried different things. Sometimes they work — sometimes they don’t. For instance, we’ve tried traffic calming, to encourage people to slow down.”

That approach did work. The idea is to help residents safely navigate their neighborhoods as crews do their job. The city also posts the leaf collection schedule in advance so residents can plan accordingly and understand the guidelines governing subdivisions. The department also allows residents to bring leaves to its site on select Saturdays in the fall, to accommodate people who need the flexibility.

At the same time, Van Delinder said his department is also concerned with being good stewards of taxpayer funds. For example, this approach has curbed their carbon footprint. Fewer trips to the compost pile mean less carbon footprint and less expended diesel fuel. Van Delinder estimates the department has enjoyed about a 20% savings in diesel fuel. Labor costs are lower, too, he noted.

On the note of conservation, Van Delinder said they give some bales to local farmers for use in their operations. Baled leaves make excellent bedding for livestock, among other things. Green Bay, Wis.’s, Department of Public Works has adopted a similar approach, investing in a baler and tractors for leaf collection each fall.

“It’s a pretty good product because it hasn’t been sitting out there long,” Van Delinder said. “It doesn’t have petroleum or anything from the streets. We pick it up pretty quickly.”

Van Delinder said other cities and towns can learn from their success, though it’s not always the right fit for every jurisdiction. He said it’s also important to be strategic. Department vehicles need to have enough horsepower to run a baler, for one. There’s also a pragmatic consideration you cannot afford to discount. “It has to be dry leaves,” he said. “If you’re in an area that has wet leaves or rainy (weather), it’s probably not going to work.”

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