Blog: City Blog

Public Service Crews Prepare to Switch to Leaf Collection

With leaf fall only weeks away, the City’s Public Service Department will soon shift efforts from brush collection to leaf collection.

October 15-26 will be the last full rotation of brush collection before crews switch out the equipment and focus on leaf collection, so be sure to get your last piles of brush out this weekend!

Crews use a machine specifically designed to collect leaves. You’ll know it when you see it—because it’s essentially a giant vacuum truck with a pipe or “snorkel” off the side. Because it is designed specifically for leaves, please use the following tips:

Leaf Collection

Place leaves in windrows (long rows) or piles parallel to the street. The pipe only reaches about 5-7 feet off the edge of the pavement – leaves further away will not be collected until moved closer to the street. One continuous pile allows for more efficient pickup up than several small piles along the street.
Do not mix brush or garbage with the leaves. Material other than leaves (even small branches) can clog the leaf pipe and slow or even halt collection.
Keep leaves loose. Leaves in bags will not be collected as part of the yard waste collection program – bags can clog equipment at multiple steps along the way. Bagged leaves will not be collected under the garbage collection program unless they are placed inside the trash cart.
Watch out for “fixed objects” in your yard. Do not place leaves over utility covers, landscaping fabric, or other materials you do not want affected; the vacuum is strong and can move or even remove these items. In order to collect large amounts of leaves the operators use a swinging motion with the pipe, and other objects like cars, mailboxes, or lawn art can impede efficient collection and increase chances of damage.
While it’s important to have piles close to the street, please do not place leaves on the street. The leaves create a hazard to vehicle and bicycle traffic, and may block other services such as mail collection.

Leaves are collected on a “week-of” schedule. This means your street is scheduled for a specific week and truck will run your street once that week, but it could be first thing Monday morning or as late as Friday afternoon.

Please call 311 with any questions about your leaf collection or other City services. Leaf collection is a service provided to City residents and households only. Businesses, apartment complexes, non-profits, and county residents can dispose yard waste at facilities such as Living Earth.

Posted by On 12 October, 2018 at 11:03 AM