Ever wonder what happens to leaves?

Ever wonder what happens to the leaves that Elgin collects from our fair streets?

We looked to Tish Powell, the city's public works administrative superintendent for the answer.

She tells us that once workers collect those pesky leaves from the streets, they're brought to a yard waste transfer station in Elgin at Gifford and Spaulding roads.

Machines there eventually convert the leaves into mulch or soil, said Tom Sundstrom, Elgin's district operations manager for Waste Management.

That soil will eventually cover garbage in landfills, he said. And the mulch produced there is sold.

So why go through this entire process?

"State law prohibits us from disposing of yard waste in landfills," Powell said. "It's been the law since the early 1990s. That's why you can't get rid of it in regular trash. It must be separated."