What to Do with My Leaves in Baldwin-Whitehall?

It's not uncommon for residents in some parts of Pennsylvania to see a pile or a barrel of burning leaves in their neighbors' yards.

But if those neighbors tried that in Baldwin-Whitehall, they'd probably be breaking the law.

In accordance with the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, "No person shall conduct, or allow to be conducted, the open burning of any material, except where (county officials) ha(ve) issued an open burning permit to such person ... or where the open burning is conducted solely for the purpose of noncommercial preparation of food for human consumption, recreation, light, ornament, or provision of warmth for outside workers, and in a manner which contributes a negligible amount of air contaminants."

In other words, no leaves.

But never fear, B-W dwellers beset by nature's colorful fall decorations. Local workers will collect your leaves alongside normal trash pickup in Baldwin Borough, Whitehall Borough and Baldwin Township.

While Baldwin Township workers will not collect leaves separately from regular trash, township residents are still allowed to place leaves curbside in accordance with their regular trash pickup days.

In Baldwin Borough, leaves are collected separately from regular trash from Oct. 22 through Nov. 24. In Whitehall, they're also collected separately from regular trash from Oct. 22 through Nov. 30.

In the cases of both boroughs, leaf waste should be placed curbside with the rest of your trash on your regular pickup days. However, leaves should be contained in biodegradable paper or compostable bags.

Both of those types of bags are available at many local food, hardware and building supplies stores. And unlike Baldwin Township, plastic bags or cardboard boxes cannot be used as containers for leaves. Loose leaves in garbage cans will also not be picked up.

Grass clippings and other yard waste are not a part of the leaves collection process. Grass and similar items will be collected in regular plastic bags.

Questions? Leave them below in the comments section. We'll try to find the answer for you.

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