If you have any kind of yard whatsoever you probably have leaves to rake in the fall. And while it’s tempting to go au natural when it comes to tree debris (we don’t rake the forest, do we?), there is a good reason to clean up Mother Nature’s leafy waste in urban and suburban areas: uncollected leaves can clog up sewers and other drainage systems and cause flooding. Uncollected in the fall, leaves can also make for a wet, mucky mess to deal with in the spring. But at the same time, we don’t want to add more heavy-duty plastic bags to the pile at the garbage dump. The solution can be found with your municipal government. Many Montreal-area municipalities, including the City of Montreal, collect leaves for composting. Some offer residents biodegradable paper bags while others provide large composting bins – both free of charge. And many of those that don’t offer leaf collection services allow residents to dump bags of leaves at a depot from which they are sent for composting. Consult your municipal authority for information on what to do with your leaves.