I think raking gets a bad rap. It’s a reason to be outside in the beautiful autumn weather, interacting with Nature. It can even be meditative once you toss out the negativity and learn to love it. And it’s a whole lot better for the environment than those awful blowers. Don’t rake up ALL the leaves though. They provide mulch for your plants, and the insects (including precious bees) need them for protection.
“Dumping the leaves out of the plastic bags at the landfill site.” And then what? Throw the empty plastic bags in the landfill? You might be able to re-use them once or twice, but eventually they’ll end up there.
Nope, not true.