Bronxville Green Committee Hosts Open Talk With Local Landscapers

Representatives from approximately 20 local landscaping companies attended the Bronxville Green Committee’s open discussion on the (LELE) initiative at Tuesday afternoon, which advocates mulching fallen leaves on lawns to cut down on dumping costs.

Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin – who sat in the front row at Tuesday’s presentation – has already said that Village properties will abide by the LELE initiative come the fall, in hopes of reducing the $100,000 price tag it took for the Village to collect its leaves in the fall of 2010.

According to Anne Holmes, Coordinator of School Programs & Environmental Projects at the Greenburgh Nature Center – who Committee members say has been instrumental in the launching of LELE in Bronxville – Westchester County spent $8 million to subsidize the cleanup of fallen leaves last year.

Tuesday’s discussion was led by Tim Downey, President of Aesthetic Landscape Care based in Hastings, who spoke for over half-an-hour about the philosophy and technique behind mulching, and fielded a number of questions from fellow landscapers. Local residents were not invited to the event, although the Committee will hold a similar information session on September 14 geared towards homeowners.

Downey, who is a representative for a company which sells mulching tools and technology, stressed the extensive benefits of mulching, saying it would save landscapers time and money – by eliminating the need for dumping – and deliver a better and more organic product to customers. By breaking down fallen leaves and allowing them to decompose on a given lawn, mulching returns vital nutrients to the soil and in turn reduces the need for fertilizers. Mulching also minimizes the use of leaf-blowers. 

“I think it’s a whole educational process,” said Manager of Bronxville’s Department of Public Works Rocco Circosta. “It’s the culture; people want manicured lawns. Once you start to look it at, you wonder why we take the stuff off the lawn when we’re just bringing stuff back in. I think there’s definitely a big benefit for lawns.”

For Mayor Marvin, the LELE initiative represents an obvious solution to a costly problem, even if the initial goals set by the Green Committee and Village are what she called “modest.” Marvin said this fall’s preliminary target is for a 20-30% reduction in collection and dumping fees.

“Thanks to the Committee I’ve been very involved,” Marvin said. “I just think they are rolling it out in the right way, talking to our landscapers, educating them. It is really silly to spend the kind of money we spend on picking up leaves. We could put those same tax dollars to far better use.”

Although almost all the landscapers who attended and spoke at Tuesday’s event admitted that the initiative was appealing and the right thing to do, a number expressed doubts that it would meet customers’ demands, many of which they said do not tolerate any leaves on their lawns. Concerns also centered around whether or not the practice was time and cost efficient. Organic landscapers seemed most open to the implementing LELE into their business model, although even they had worries concerning the aesthetic end product and whether customers would be receptive to it.

As Downey explained on Tuesday, mulching involves an element of creativity on the part of landscaping companies, as leaves that otherwise would be collected and taken off of a property have to be either shredded and dispersed or neatly grouped in flower beds or around trees. A mulching demonstration was held on the lawn in front of Village Hall as part of Tuesday’s event, although it failed to impress due to heavy rain and extremely poor conditions.

“I think it’ll take longer than people think, but it’s still going to be good,” said Patrick Gasparro of Nature’s Cradle in Eastchester about the process of mulching a property’s fallen leaves. “We’re going to do it. I don’t think our customers will have a problem doing it, they’ll be happy we’re doing it.”

Landscapers Tuesday expressed specific concerns that the LELE initiative would be a hard sell to Bronxville residents. One business owner called himself “a product of his customers” and described local residents as a “hard crowd to teach.” Despite sympathizing with his fellow landscapers on these issues, and even stating that the practice of mulching may not prove beneficial for larger companies, Downey is confident that the LELE will have a significant impact on customers and the local landscaping business once underway.

“It will be challenging in certain communities because of the personalities and type of people, the demographics,” Downey said. “But I would say probably out of that 100% demographic, better than half of them if you implemented this process, they won’t know the difference. But what we do know, and the science is all in on this, that you’re doing right by the property.”

Downey envisions the initiative doing more than just making for more eco-friendly lawns and landscaping practices, however, but hopes that it can help restructure the relationship between local residents and their landscapers.

“Too often in businesses you just treat people and clients as check numbers,” he said. “When you actually demonstrate you care about them a little bit, that you’re doing the right thing for them and giving them a nice organic lawn, you’re going to have a different rapport with them. That’s the difference versus somebody that’s just a truck with a name on it, sends bodies out there and hopes for the best. It’s looking at your business in a different, more responsible fashion and caring about your clients.”

Chairwoman of the Bronxville Green Committee Mary Liz Mulligan was very pleased with the turnout at Tuesday’s event, and hopes the September 14 discussion with homeowners is just as successful and educational. 

“I was hoping for a decent turnout, but was even more please than I expected to be,” Mulligan said. “I thought the questions and comments made by the landscapers were honest and points of concern, both for them and the land owners. It was a very open discussion, which was the best thing to have.”

For more information on how you can take part in the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em initiative or future Bronxville Green Committee events email BronxvilleGreenCommittee@gmail.com.