At Prestige lawn, we believe very strongly in recycling of lawn debris.
RECYCLING LEAVES & GRASS CLIPPINGS ONSITE:
Both leaves and grass clippings can be recycled onsite by mulching them into the turf, blowing them into nearby natural areas, and/or collecting & piling them to become compost for later use. Any of these recycling techniques is more beneficial than removing them from your property.
First of all, it's not always possible to recycle everything onsite on every property. Indeed some properties are too heavily paved or otherwise covered in a manner that's not conducive to recycling leaves on site. However, it is possible to recycle all or most material on most properties. IF possible, then it is beneficial to everyone from many standpoints. The two biggest standpoints are environmental & economical.
Environmental: Recycling onsite benefits your personal environment by adding your organic matter back into your lawn, your garden, or back into your natural areas. It also benefits the environment as a whole by not adding to the landfill unnecessarily, by not transporting possible disease or fungus to other properties, and by not burning fossil fuels to have your organic matter hauled off. If recycled into the turf, it can reduce the amount of fertilizer needed to maintain optimum health. Recycling onsite is an obvious and easy step towards an all-organic lifestyle.
Economical: Recycling onsite saves time. And if you hire out your lawn work, then it will save your contractor money. If so, then most contractors will price the work accordingly. Recycling onsite also prevents you from needing to buy as much organic matter for your lawn or garden. And should you collect and pile your organic material into your own compost pile, then it can be used when and where it's needed onsite.
Thatch? Recycling leaves and clippings into a lawn does NOT create thatch. At least not in the fescue lawns of our region. And if a poorly-maintained lawn did happen to have thatch in this area for whatever reason, then a good fertilizer and lime program will generate more microbial activity and will break down the thatch naturally. Manual removal of thatch is more of a New England area issue specifically with poorly-maintained Bluegrass lawns.
Ugly? Most of the time, people can't tell the difference when leaves and/or grass clippings are recycled into the turf. In wet conditions, things can look a little messier but the long-term aesthetic benefits will outweigh those occasional occurrences.