Fall is here and so are falling leaves. Experts say there are a few ways you can dispose of the leaves around your home or repurpose them.

SEATTLE — Seattle Public Utilities and gardening experts say you should rake the leaves around your home, but there are a few ways to use or dispose of the leaves once they're raked.

SPU is encouraging customers to rake the leaves on the driveways and sidewalks around their homes to prevent them from clogging storm drains.

“We have over 30,000 drains and it’s hard to keep up with them,” said Randall Dickey with Seattle Public Utilities.

Starting Nov. 1, 2019, Dickey said SPU will collect up to 10 extra bags from households for free.

Dickey said leaves collected from the street could be covered with chemicals from the road, so you should put them in a plastic bag and send them to the trash.

If the leaves are collected from your lawn, SPU is asking you to put those in a paper bag and take them to be composted.

If you're looking for a way to recycle your leaves, though, leaves raked from your lawn can also be used as fertilizer.

Gardening expert Ciscoe Morris said he uses leaves as mulch, but he said to make sure the leaves come from a healthy tree.

“I rake leaves. You don’t want to leave a bunch of leaves on your lawn because if you do that, they could smother the grass and really cause serious problems,” said Ciscoe.

Leaves used as mulch shouldn't be too large. You can toss them into the soil and they will help your garden grow in the Spring, Ciscoe said.

He said you'll likely have more leaves than you need, so composting the rest or sending them to the trash is a good way to keep your lawn healthy.