The Lesser-Known Yard Tool That Could Make Leaf Cleanup Faster And Easier

Leaves — the bane of many yard owners' existence. No matter how much you love autumn's stunning colors and cozy vibes, dealing with fallen leaves puts a definite damper on an otherwise magical season. Home improvement brands try to help with all sorts of powerful tools designed to make cleaning up fallen leaves a breeze, all boasting varying degrees of success. One lesser-known yard tool with a funny name and a simple, thoughtful design may make annual leaf cleanup easier than ever: the Leaf Burrito.

The Leaf Burrito was invented in 2015 by a North Carolinian homeowner, Marc Mataya, who was frustrated by the sheer volume of single-use bags he was wasting year after year on leaf collection. He created a reusable bag that lies flat like a tarp so you can collect the leaves on top, then zips up along the top and on the sides to keep all the contents inside for transportation. It has several handles for easy carrying, and all you have to do is unzip one end to release the leaves. Its industrial-grade mesh and heavy-duty YKK zippers can also handle larger yard debris, including weeds, sticks, and small limbs. You can find it at Lowe's and in several different styles and sizes to suit any size job, with prices ranging from $32 to $150. The larger 5- and 7-foot Leaf Burritos hold the equivalent of four to 12 disposable bags of yard waste, and they can also zip together with other Leaf Burritos for a larger collecting area.

When Mataya first developed the idea for the Leaf Burrito, he immediately turned to local municipal waste collection crews to design a reusable yard waste bag that helps both homeowners and the city easily collect and dispose of fallen leaves. By 2018, the City of Charlotte Solid Waste Department approved the Leaf Burrito for curbside emptying. Homeowners throughout the city can place their filled 5-foot Leaf Burrito bags out beside their trash cans (the bags can stand up vertically), and crew members will empty the contents and leave the bags for reuse. As more and more municipalities continue to ban the use of plastic bags for yard waste, other cities are following Charlotte's lead and using the Leaf Burrito as a sustainable yard waste solution. If your local waste management agency allows reusable yard waste bags, you may be able to leave your Leaf Burrito for curbside emptying, too — just be sure to check with your local guidelines.

If yard waste removal isn't offered in your area — or even if it is — there are plenty of ways to use fallen leaves as nutrient-dense fertilizer around your lawn and garden. Load up your Leaf Burrito and put the leaves to good use as compost, mulch, or even potting soil. While the Leaf Burrito's design looks promising, the price point is somewhat steep. You can DIY your own burrito-esque leaf collector by attaching wooden dowels on either end of a tarp to make scooping up the leaves easier.