Leaves from the dump - Are they ok to use?

[Bobberman]

I take some things to the dump about once a weekbeing in the carpet business. They have huge pile of leaves from the street cleaner there. I usually et a load and dump them in the garden around oct to dec them march. These leaves actual;ly may have some salt and oil mixed in since they are from the street cleaner. Is there a problem with them beside the snails I get!

[rainbowgardener]

We had a thread recently, which I went looking for and cannot find, about sweeping up leaves from the street/ curbside for the compost pile which may have car soot, oil etc on them and whether that is a problem. I went looking for the thread and can't seem to find it.

But the general conclusion was ok. But if you know those leaves are pretty heavily polluted, I would limit their use, don't bring home the whole dump full (at once). Feed them into your compost pile gradually mixed in with a lot of other ingredients. And then give it plenty of time to let bioremediation work its magic. Amazing the things that can be broken down and digested in an active compost pile...

[soil]

I had a friend who picked up bags off the side of the street in town, he brought them home and asked if I could help spread mulch. well as were going through were pulling out bad stuff. cigg butts, alcohol bottles, plastics, metals, beer bottles, toys, the list goes on. lets just say its not ornamental mulch and will always be so.

[Gary350]

I refuse to put 2,4,D or any type toxic poison on my yard and I refuse to take grass and leaves from someone that puts toxic poison on their yard. I would be afraid of using leaves without knowing where they came from.

[rainbowgardener]

I don't use any poisons either. So I don't use anyone else's grass clippings unless I know how they grow them, because most people use all kinds of chemicals on their lawns. But I do collect other people's fall leaves that they put out curbside (and have been known to sweep some up from the street, when people just pile them and bag them myself). No one sprays their 50 foot tall oak trees and even if they put chemicals on their lawn that shouldn't much affect the roots of the oak 20 feet down in the earth......

[julio]

I only use grass clipping from my garden.I am sure it haven't any poison.
I don't play with the health of my vegetable garden.

[dave.c]

I agree that I wouldn't use leaves from an unknown source, but my cousin used them in her compost and it worked great. She just blended them in, the warms didn't mind.

[2cents]

A friend has the City he lives in, dump 10 - 60 yards of curbside leaf grass and some tree trimmings on his 1/2 acre lot(home site). Only a 60 x 20 n 30 x 10 n 40 x 40 garden spots. They all decay down and he has a great garden.
And yes I've seen the occasional doll part, small toy, plastic refuse in his garden. He picks them out and keeps on growing.......