I was raised to believe that you should leave places better than you found them. Pick up trash, plant flowers, repair something broken, leave a few pieces of firewood at a campsite for the next folks.

A National Wildlife Federation survey of 1,500 people across the U.S. found that 90% of respondents were willing to leave or repurpose the leaves in their yard to help the environment.

The National Wildlife Federation has even deemed October National Leave the Leaves Month.And last year, the organization surveyed nearly 1,200 individuals about what they do with their fallen leaves.

If you leave them on the ground, they won't end up in a landfill. Although some municipalities vacuum leaves and compost them, the majority don't, according to Meyer.