Scientific processing of leaves abroad is much more effective than in our country. While in our country it is composted or, as happens more often, taken out for burning, European countries earn money.
In particular, lawns are fertilized, and briquettes and logs are made from leaves or ordinary garbage to produce gas.
Should fallen leaves be left for the winter?
It is our custom to remove and remove what Americans have been feeding the soil with for a long time. In Washington, the capital of America, leaves remain in the places where they fell. In order to rot better and faster, they are only crushed.
Plant waste left on lawns is believed to enrich the soil with nutrients.
Maybe that's why, rather than kicking up dust and sweeping them away, it's better to spend the money on a leaf shredder. Regarding what to do with the leaves, whether to leave them on the ground or not, expert opinions differ.
Some experts are sure that infectious viruses and pests remain in the leaves for the winter, therefore, their removal is beneficial to the trees.
Others remind us that, while allowing the grass to germinate under the snow in the spring, fallen leaves are a protective layer of soil from freezing.
Leaf recycling as a business
Leaf recycling has long been used by many countries to make money. The problem of fallen leaves in Birmingham is being tackled differently.
In these places, this is the basis of a business whose slogan is the fight for the environment, and a source of income.
They turn tree leaves into ordinary firewood - logs. There is now a log manufacturing plant in Birmingham.
The technology for producing these eco-wood is not only about compacting and burning biomass. To prepare one log, approximately one bag filled with large leaves is consumed.
The British add wax to the final product - thirty percent wax and seventy percent leaves.
We use a rake
It turns out, in addition, people abroad still haven’t forgotten about rakes. And they not only remember, but also apply.
In Western countries, there are three types of rakes:
- made of bamboo
- made of metal
- made of plastic
There they are used depending on how many leaves have fallen on the surrounding area.
You can also add to the list:
- shredding machines
- vacuum cleaners
- blowers
And everything works for the benefit of the environment.
Two Englishmen who created their own business began making logs from autumn leaves. Fuel is purchased by owners of country houses who do not want to heat their premises with natural gas. Preserved trees and leaves removed from the ground maintain ecological purity. The idea is interesting, the business is profitable.
Autumn is not only the time of leaf fall, but also a great opportunity to make money, which is exactly what Birmingham residents Peter Morrison and Sharon Warmington thought when they created a company called BioFuels International.
This enterprise specializes in the production of logs from fallen leaves and brings a good income to its owners. Enterprising men marked their business with the banner of the struggle to save the environment and against global warming, which has been on the lips for the last few decades.
Each log of the Leaf Log brand weighs a little more than one kilogram, and is a couple of centimeters short of thirty in length. This type of fuel is becoming increasingly popular in England, where this year alone 50,000 leaves fell from each major tree, amounting to a total of approximately a million tons.
It is not possible to collect them all, but even a small part of this resource, which is lying right under our feet, can bring very good dividends.
At the same time, no harm is caused to the environment: trees are not cut down and continue to absorb carbon dioxide, saving humanity from suffocation.
This analogue of conventional fuel has become an ideal alternative for owners of country houses and cottages who do not accept heating their premises with natural gas. Now they will not have to feel remorse for millions of cut down trees, which are simply not realistic to revive.
Peter and Sharon conducted a study, and it turned out that leaves left to rot on the ground, as well as those that are taken to landfills by cars from city streets, decompose and release methane, which, when released into the atmosphere, is 20 times higher than the negative indicators of carbon dioxide.
Methane is what heats the room when using logs from BioFuels International, but in this case carbon dioxide, which the tree previously received from the air, enters the atmosphere. Thus, firewood from fallen leaves has double benefits for the environment.
The idea to create a unique technology for recycling fallen leaves came to Morrison two years ago, when he was trying to get rid of leaves in his house. He picked up the sheet, looked at it and decided that goodness should not be wasted.
Then there were long experiments, as a result of which he, an engineer by training, managed to create the first fuel tablet combining leaves and some special additives. The prototype was enough to boil one liter of water.
“Leaf Logs are not suitable only for barbecuing: the flame is too high,” complains the inventor of the unique logs. At the same time, modern samples are practically smokeless, not counting the beginning and end of combustion. “Leaf” fuel is ideal for starting a fire in open areas and leaves virtually no traces of a fire.
As time passed, the “leaf” business began to generate good income, and the small factory turned into a large plant producing Leaf Log. Now resourceful entrepreneurs are thinking about developing their business nationwide, because in Birmingham alone, utility workers annually collect and take to landfill approximately 16 thousand tons of fallen leaves.
The unique technology for the production of such fuel is based on drying and strong compaction of natural biomass, so one log requires a large garbage bag of collected leaves.
The British add wax to the main raw material, which serves as a connecting link and an additional element for combustion. The ratio is 70% leaves and 30% wax, making the logs a 70% carbon-neutral product.
This method of production gives “firewood” increased flammability, because starting a fire does not require additional means in the form of wood chips or special liquid.
Leaf Log firewood has undergone numerous tests, which have shown good results; for example, each kilogram of such fuel releases 27.84 megajoules of energy, which is significantly higher than ordinary wooden logs. The burning time of one “log” of British creators can continuously burn for 2-3 hours in a row, which is three times longer than the usual analogue.
In the UK, a pack of 10 Leaf Logs costs £35 or $56, with free domestic delivery. This approach makes firewood from leaves very popular in the country and contributes to the rapid development of this area.
The next step of this corporation was the creation of a unique “recipe” for the production of environmentally friendly fuel based on sawdust, which was called Rustic Log. This log costs 2.75 pounds or $4.4, while its burning time is two hours.
The efforts of these Britons in the field of environmental protection did not go unnoticed, so in 2008 Morrison and Warmington received a 40 thousand pounds award from Shell UK for a progressive “green” idea, and three months after its creation the company received serious investments, which made it possible to create modern plant.
Over the next two years, BioFuels presented its technology at several global thematic exhibitions, where they received massive recognition. This made it possible to significantly expand the list of parks and foxes from which the company receives raw materials for its production.
The fame of the new technology for creating “deciduous” firewood thundered throughout the planet and last year orders began to arrive from different countries, which, if approved by the British, would allow the creation of similar enterprises around the world.
Today you can even find Leaf Log in specialized wine stores, which offer entire sets of a bottle of good wine, a new DVD and one “leafy” log.
Returning home, the owner of such a set can sit in a room with a fireplace with a glass of his favorite drink in his hands and watch a new movie. Perhaps such fuel and its production will appear in Russia, but for now we will have to be content with ordinary logs, natural gas and coal. Here's the story: someone buys equipment for producing bags to create their own business, while others simply collect leaves and “sell” them.
Each of us has burned fallen leaves at least once, but not everyone would think of lighting a stove with them. Stuffing an armful of leaves into the oven is extremely troublesome and, most importantly, not very effective. But if you go the other way, that is, to make firewood from fallen leaves, then in this case the process of heating a stove or fireplace with fallen leaves takes the form of burning ordinary firewood.
It is in the question “How to make firewood from fallen leaves?” entrepreneurs from Birmingham have succeeded quite successfully and in an original way.
The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison while he was sweeping up a pile of autumn leaves at his home. Turning the fallen leaf over in his hands, the inventor decided that this material was worthy of a second life. After several experiments with foliage, the future entrepreneur created a fuel tablet containing, in addition to foliage, a number of binding additives. This tablet boiled a liter of water and inspired Peter Morrison to new experiments.
(photo from www.leaflog.com)
Now in Birmingham there is a whole plant producing such environmentally friendly firewood. The plant has no shortage of raw materials, since in this city and its environs alone, municipal services annually collect and transport 16 thousand tons of autumn leaves to a landfill.
The technology for producing such eco-firewood is not only about drying and compacting biomass. Entrepreneurs add wax to the final product, which is a binder and additional combustible material. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves and 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% carbon neutral.
The weight of this log is 1.2 kilograms with a length of 28 centimeters.
Another advantage of such logs is the fact that they can be easily set on fire, which does not require any kindling liquid or a torch. The shell used as a filler for the biomass is a cardboard tube.
In 2008-2009, BioFuels was a success in a whole series of environmental exhibitions. Tellingly, some of the prizes went to Birmingham entrepreneurs not for “conscious ecology”, but for an original business idea.”
Independent testing has shown that Leaf Log firewood produces 27.84 MegaJoules of energy per kilogram, which is comparable in heating value to high-quality coal and more than wood.
At the same time, the burning time of one log is 2-3 hours, which is three times longer than a wooden block of the same weight. And, most importantly, the harmful “exhaust” from such a log is small.
Leaf Logs are not suitable for barbecues only, as they have a very high flame when burning. They can be used anywhere an open fire is needed. The British note that Leaf Log burns almost smokelessly, not counting the very beginning and the very end.
I live in Moscow in a quiet (by Moscow standards), cozy, area surrounded by green trees. Naturally, in the fall, fallen leaves cause a lot of inconvenience to public utilities. Every day during this period, in a nearby park, you can see how utility workers collect fallen leaves, pack them in huge plastic bags and take them, apparently, to a landfill. Where else could it be? Do not burn them, aggravating the already unfavorable environmental situation in the metropolis.
- Wait, what if you burn it? Burn not just for the purpose of disposal, but usefully and with great commercial gain?
So, or something like this, reasoned Peter Morrison and Sharon Warmington, who were perhaps the first in the world to develop the technology for making special logs for burning stoves or fireplaces. They came up with the idea, filed a patent and earned a lot of money from it. Millions dollars. Not counting the money that these cunning people, in the good sense of the word, will earn in the future. The demand for the products that BioFuels International produces is growing every day. The technology that turns fallen leaves into “magic”. The name of the log is Leaf Log.
The idea and technology were born in Great Britain, where, according to the most conservative estimates, the weight of fallen leaves is about a million tons. Can you imagine?! Now imagine the size of the territory of Great Britain and compare it with the territory of Russia. Billions, no, I’m afraid to count... many, very many!! It is, of course, unrealistic to collect them all, but even a small fraction from this free source is a good help in reducing the burning of fossil hydrocarbons. Of course, I understand that there are a lot of skeptics who claim that our forests are like dirt. There are a lot of forests, I agree. And where? That's right - in the forest. After all, it must be cut down, sawn, packaged, brought, etc. and so on. What do we get? The overhead costs are so high that you don't even want the money. And here they (leaves-money) rustle underfoot. Literally and figuratively.
The idea for this unusual fuel came to Morrison more than two years ago, when he was sweeping up an army of autumn leaves in his home. Turning the fallen leaf over in his hands, the inventor decided that this material was being wasted. The engineer experimented with the foliage, as a result of which he created a fuel tablet containing, in addition to the foliage, a number of additives. The tablet boiled a liter of water, which inspired Peter to try new things. There is now a whole factory in Birmingham producing Leaf Log. And he has yet to cover the vast expanses of Birmingham alone with recycling - in this city and its environs, municipal services annually collect and transport 16 thousand tons of autumn leaves to landfill. What can we say about spreading the idea throughout the country.
The technology for producing such eco-logs is not only about drying and compacting biomass (by the way, about one unpressed “big black garbage bag” with leaves is consumed per log). The British add wax to the final product, which is a binder and also additional fuel. The ingredient ratio is 70% leaves and 30% wax, so Birmingham logs are 70% carbon neutral.
A pack of ten Leaf Logs costs £35 ($56), including national delivery, which BioFuels International says is comparable to competing eco-friendly products, “synthetic firewood” for fireplaces and stoves made from sawdust. But at the same time, the latter contain up to 70% wax. However, wood processing waste also came to the attention of BioFuels. Following the leaf logs, the company developed sawdust-based firewood - according to Rustic Log's own recipe.
Well, as a result, in the fall of this year, several companies from different countries approached the creators of BioFuels International, expressing interest in their own production of Leaf Log under a license from a British company. It turned out that trading last year’s leaves is a very promising activity.
Isn't this an example of the fact that business ideas are literally scattered under our feet?
With the onset of autumn, many summer residents have a question: what to do with fallen leaves? Their number, if there are fruit trees on the site, can be significant. And fallen leaves in this case become a real headache for gardeners.
However, there are several quick methods for its disposal that will improve the health of the soil, nourish the cultivated plants and make the process of cleaning the garden in the fall quick and enjoyable.
Where can fallen leaves be used?
With the first cold weather, trees and shrubs actively get rid of yellowed leaves. Autumn is a beautiful time that requires timely cleaning of the site.
Fallen leaves look beautiful, especially in early autumn. But gradually it rots, and the larvae of numerous pests settle in it for the winter. and the appearance of the site deteriorates with a large amount of it...
Therefore, cleaning it must be done in a timely and competent manner. After all, the labor costs for harvesting activities in the fall are significant, but with the help of our tips you can make the leaves from the trees useful.
Burning
Fallen leaves are most often carried away from the site. However, such disposal requires storage space and significant labor costs. Therefore, an alternative to removing fallen leaves from an area is to burn them.
- To prevent the occurrence of a fire hazard, you should first prepare a place for a fire. It is advisable to dig it in first - this helps prevent the fire from spreading throughout the area. You can pour water into the groove around the fire pit. This method of preparing a site for burning leaves is guaranteed to ensure fire safety.
- The location for the fire should be chosen away from buildings. Especially if there are wooden buildings on the site, it is necessary to carefully comply with fire safety requirements. It is better to choose an area where planting is not planned in the near future, since lighting an open fire will damage the top layer of soil.
- To limit the area where leaves are burned, simple borders can be built. For this, large stone, brick, metal pipes are used - everything that is not exposed to fire and does not ignite.
- Do not use solutions or mixtures such as gasoline to ignite a fire. They can significantly contribute to the uncontrolled spread of fire and make the ash obtained from combustion unsuitable for fertilizing the land.
To keep the fire limited in size and safe, you should add a little bit of fallen leaves to the fire. You can also burn waste that burns and does not emit harmful substances when burned: wood, paper, food. It is not recommended to burn plastic or rubber on the site.
Why is burning leaves useful?
After combustion, ash is formed. This product is the ultimate goal when burning leaves in the fall. After all, fallen leaves are a completely natural product, which, after burning, produces high-quality ash - an ideal fertilizer. It can be used to improve and enrich the land during planting. Plants completely absorb beneficial substances from such ash and acquire the ability to resist the negative effects of diseases and pests.
Ash can be used as a fertilizer in its pure form, by digging it into the ground or adding it to the soil when digging the beds. Ash can also be used to make a nutrient mixture for watering plants. To do this, ash is added to water, the solution is infused for several hours and you can water the crops with it. Watering is carried out at the root of the plant. The frequency of use of ash is unlimited. After all, such a natural fertilizer is completely safe for the earth and plants.
Enriching the compost heap
Such a structure as a compost heap is available in almost all country and garden plots. After all, its convenience and benefits are well known. You can read about the features of creating a competent compost heap on our website.
Since all kinds of food scraps are included in the creation of a compost heap, fallen leaves can also be used as a complete additive. When the leaves rot, they produce light and nutritious humus. Some summer residents even create separate compost heaps, the main element of which is fallen leaves. The humus of such heaps is faster, since the foliage has a light consistency and rots quickly.
The fallen leaves are placed in a compost heap in a dense row, which allows for a significant amount of it to be disposed of. You can rearrange the layers of leaves with other food scraps. To speed up decay, it is recommended to spread manure and chicken droppings between the layers of leaves. These natural accelerators of humus formation will allow the contents of the compost heap to mature faster.
Mulching beds
Fallen leaves are also widely used as mulch. Mulching allows you to achieve the following results:
- protect plantings made before winter (for example, spring garlic, the method of growing which can be read on our website) from frost during the winter;
- fertilize the soil. Indeed, during rotting, which occurs quickly due to the lightness of the leaves, high-quality natural fertilizer is formed;
- prevent excessively active germination of weeds in the spring beds.
Fallen leaves as mulch are also an excellent alternative to other types of leaf disposal.
As we see, opportunities for more efficient removal of fallen leaves from an area make it possible to provide cultivated plants and plantings with useful substances and enrich the soil.
A competent approach even to harvesting leaves in the fall allows you to obtain benefits for the health of plantings and reduce the labor costs of gardeners.