RESTON, Va. — Fallen leaves help sustain healthy ecosystems, provide food and habitat for wildlife, and return valuable nutrients to the soil. However, the fourth annual National Wildlife Federation ‘Leave the Leaves’ survey found 52% of respondents are required to remove fall leaves by an HOA and/or city or municipality ordinance, a 12% increase from 2025. The most common method to comply with these requirements includes disposing of leaves in the trash, with 36% throwing away an average of six or more garbage bags per year. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, leaves and other yard debris account for 7.2% of the nation’s municipal solid waste with more than 10 million tons of yard waste buried in the landfill every year. Despite this, many respondents are helping to keep leaves out of landfills by participating in city leaf pickup programs, using leaves as mulch in garden beds, composting, or mowing over fall leaves rather than throwing them away. 

“Leave the Leaves can mean different things to different people, it’s about finding a method that works for you while still helping wildlife and the environment,” said David Mizejewski, naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation. “We want to provide people with practical options for managing fall leaves that meet them where they are and can be adapted to fit individual needs. The important thing is to keep leaves out of the landfill and reduce the environmental impacts that exacerbate climate change.”

‘Leave the Leaves’ comes in many forms, choose what’s best for you

While the most natural way to enhance and preserve the ecosystem created by fall leaves is to leave them alone, HOA or local requirements may prevent homeowners from doing this. The next best solution is to rake leaves directly into garden beds to create a natural mulch layer that preserves soil moisture, suppresses weeds and naturally composts, returning nutrients directly to plant roots. 

Homeowners can also add them to a compost pile and let them decompose over the course of the year. That resulting compost can be applied to lawns or garden beds for added spring nutrients. If those options still don’t work, mowers can chop leaves in place and return them to the soil to keep leaves out of the landfill.

The 2026 Leave the Leaves Month survey interviewed 1,854 people between the ages of 18 and over 65 living across the United States. Survey findings include: 

• 52% are required to rake their leaves by either a homeowner’s association, a city or municipality ordinance, or a combination of both
• 14% of respondents leave their leaves where they fall 
• 39% participate in city leaf pickup programs
• 31% are using collected leaves as mulch in their garden beds
• 26% move them to a compost pile, compost tumbler, or leaf pile on their property
• 29% mow over fall leaves 
• 41% dispose of them in the garbage for trash pickup
• 13% of those surveyed dispose of more than 10 bags of leaves per year in the trash, with 23% disposing of between six to 10 per year, and 38% disposing of between one and five bags
• 40% are worried about fall leaves smothering or ruining their lawn
• 17% said they don’t have space to keep a pile of leaves or to compost them 
• 14% said they didn’t know what else to do with leaves other than throw them away in the trash

You can view 2025 survey results here. 

National Wildlife Federation thanks its Certified Wildlife Habitat Champion Partner, Wild Birds Unlimited for its support and promoting Leave the Leaves Month.