""they had also chopped up a bunch of leaves that were mixed with the leaves! "

It realy spoils my day to find a bunch chopped up leaves mixed with a bag of leaves. ( :

score

This recipe (leaves + grass clippings) makes up >90% of my compost pile.

I really wish i had a shredder, but until then, I'll just use my bagging mower.

You're right! You don't want to mix leaves with leaves! ;)

I hope you asked a very important question first.

Do the neighbor have a lawn service spray your lawn, and with what? (Hardly anyone knows what is sprayed on their lawn, maybe some folks in this forum)

Does the neighbor himself spray any weedkiller or other products? And the same question about the neighbor's neighbors.

For the last two years I have been taking one neighbors leaves in the fall. Come to find out he brings home industrial type sprays because the 'stuff in the garden store is not strong enough'.

My tomato crop was better in the first five years, over the last five years. And this might be one reason why.

Robert,the fact anyone would catch clippings and ship them off site is reason enough to be suspecious of them.
My neighbor mows over an acre and a half with a lawn tractor then rakes the clippings and hauls them to the landfill where they charge a fee for leaves,clippings and tree trimmings in an effort to discourage disposing of them.
One only needs to compare my place with his to see if mulching back onto the ground is benificial. I am of the opinion that if everyone recycled 100% of their yard waste and watered responsibly,it could solve our water crisis and beautify in the process,

I don't have specific data to prove it, but it seems like leaves should not have carry a large burden of stuff you're putting on the lawn. First of all it's not sprayed on the trees. I suppose herbicides could go into the soil and be absorbed by tree roots, but If the trees picked up an effective dose, wouldn't the trees be damaged or killed? When you consider those factors, then you compost the leaves along with other materials, the likelihood of having herbicide problems with the compost seems small. Not impossible, but unlikely.

tn gardening i tried to find your email but can't i have a shredder in north ms. wheeler57@hotmail.com

They do not use anything on their lawn. Nor did the people who planted it about 8 years ago. Nor do the neighbors. We're in the country and there are only 4 houses close, so we know what we do in our yards. ;) Nancy