Complete the Leave Your Leaves Pledge and get a free yard sign while supplies last.

The pledge demonstrates your commitment to supporting climate resilience and biodiversity while communicating the intention and value of your leaf-leaving practices to your neighbors.

Yard Signs

Yard signs are available to Orange County residents, with a limit of one yard sign per household each year. Re-use is encouraged. Most people complete the pledge and receive their signs in autumn.

In Hillsborough, signs can be picked up October through November at:

• Orange County Public Library, 137 W. Margaret Lane.
• Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, 1020 U.S. 70 W.

The yard signs are made from sturdy, weather-resistant and waterproof material and are printed with low-VOC vegetable-based inks. They measure 18 by 24 inches, have imagery on both sides and come with metal stakes.

Leaves are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. Leaving leaves in your yard:

• Improves soil and tree health.
• Supports butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife.
• Reduces pollution, noise pollution from leaf blowers and stormwater runoff.
• Saves you time and money.

Leave Your Leaves To:

Create Fertile Soil and Healthy Trees — Leaves are full of nutrients that naturally fertilize the soil and support plant health as they decompose over 6 to 12 months. They also help control weeds. They can be composed with other brown materials, like pine straw and twigs, to provide valuable nutrients for your yard and garden.

Support Local Wildlife — Leaves support biodiversity in your neighborhood by providing shelter for pollinators, butterflies and other beneficial insects during the winter months. To make a really positive impact, leave your leaves until spring, when native bees, fireflies, butterflies and moths emerge from leaf cover. These beneficial insects support other animals and plants. A nest of small baby birds, like chickadees, requires 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to grow to adulthood.

Reduce Runoff and Improve Water Quality — A bed of decomposing leaves helps soak up water during heavy rains and then slowly releases water, keeping trees and other plants hydrated during droughts and reducing runoff during heavy rains. The benefits are more significant in low-lying areas prone to flooding.

Leaves blown into the street carry contaminants and nutrients into storm drains and waterways. This can cause harmful algae blooms that diminish water quality.

Avoid Pollution, Reduce Waste and Mitigate Climate Change — Leaf collection requires large trucks that burn a lot of fuel and release considerable emissions. Gas-powered leaf blowers emit nearly 300 times the amount of air pollutants as a pickup truck. Their volume also reaches 90 decibels and can cause hearing damage after two hours of exposure.

Save Time, Effort and Money — Leaves provide free fertilizer and mulch. Time and energy can be saved by leaving them in place.

Try one of these alternative approaches for managing leaves:

Leave Your Leaves Where They Fall — Leaves provide valuable soil health and biodiversity benefits when left on the ground. Sidewalks and driveways should be cleared as needed.

Move Leaves To Use as Mulch — Rake or blow your leaves under trees, around shrubs or into perennial beds. Consider an electric leaf blower, which creates less noise and pollution than gas-powered blowers.

Compost Your Leaves to Create Fertilizer for Your Garden — To learn more about composting your leaves and other yard trimmings at home, see Orange County's Compost at Home page or the North Carolina State Cooperative Extension's Home and Backyard Composting page.

Use a Mulching Mower — Sometimes a thick layer of leaves can be too much for turf grass. Using a mulching mower to grind leaves can help maintain a healthy lawn. Mulching mowers support healthy plants and soil but do not provide the same biodiversity benefits as the other strategies. Preferably, use an electric mulching mower.

From November through January, public works employees will deliver leaves to those in an 8-mile radius of Hillsborough who would like the leaves for mulch or compost. Priority is given to Hillsborough residents.

• The minimum amount is a truckload, or about 20 cubic yards.
• The delivery area must be accessible by a large truck.

To request a delivery, submit a work order or call the administrative support specialist.

Ensure leaves do not blow into streets or stormwater ditches:

• Use appropriate compost bins or containers.
• For leaves around plantings, thoroughly wet leaves or cover them in shredded wood, bark or another mulching material.

Ensure leaves are placed to help trees thrive:

• Do not pile leaves around the trunks of trees — Trees do best with an even carpet of fallen leaves extending toward the drip line of the canopy rather than a pile of leaves at the base of the trunk. This maximizes tree and soil benefits while minimizing issues associated with covering the root flare.

• Rake leaves underneath their trees of origin when possible — Trees are best adapted to the acidity levels and micro-environments created by their own decomposing leaves.

• Do not make the leaf layer too thick — This blocks water from reaching the soil under the tree.