Should Linn County pick up leaves in burn ban buffer?

If you can't burn it, what do you do with it?

Leaf pickup, long an issue confined to city limits in Linn County, is now under discussion at Linn County.

The Board of Supervisors talked Monday about buying a leaf vacuum truck to be used in a quarter-mile buffer zone just outside Cedar Rapids, Marion and Hiawatha city limits, where leaf burning has been forbidden since 2008.

While the truck is far from a reality, the larger question is how county residents just outside city limits will get rid of their leaves.

“We've had a lot of requests for options,” Supervisor Jim Houser said. “Does this board want to be in the business of leaf pickup?”

Supervisor Brent Oleson said 80 to 90 percent of Robins is angry about the burn ban.

“The county said ‘You can't do it this way, good luck,'” Supervisor Brent Oleson said. “The prior board of supervisors wanted this in place, and this is the result of this.”

County staff are going to send residents information on what they can do to get rid of their leaves. A vacuum leaf truck is unlikely, for now.

“Definitely we're not taking any action on purchasing a leaf truck,” Supervisor Ben Rogers said. “There are more cost-effective options than a $130,000 piece of equipment.”

Burning yard waste within a quarter-mile of any metro city's limits pumps harmful levels of particulate matter into the air in or near densely populated areas, health officials say. Particulate matter, which is small pieces of dust, can penetrate lungs and arteries.

Major industries in Linn County must spend tens of millions of dollars filtering their smokestacks in order to limit particulate emissions.

Campfires are exempt from the burn ban, as is land zoned for agriculture and a few other uses, because agricultural properties are often large enough that densely populated areas aren't affected.