Leaf Collection

The Department of Public Works picks up fallen leaves during the autumn season. Each single-family residence within Village limits has three scheduled pickups beginning in October. Check the Collection Day Lookup or Leaf Collection Map to determine which pickup zone your home is in. The interactive Map lets users zoom into different areas of the Village. The Lookup allows you to search for a specific address.

Regulations

  • All raked leaves must be put into the street and ready for pickup no later than 7 AM on the Monday of your scheduled weeks, but no earlier than 4 PM the day before the collection. Crews will start the pickups on Mondays and continue throughout the week until all leaves have been collected.
  • Only one pass down each street will be made during collection weeks. Due to the large volume of leaves, trucks are unable to return a second time.
  • There are three scheduled collections for each residence. Refer to the Map or Lookup to determine your zone and schedule.

Leaf Collection is a Two-Step ProcessLeaf pile in residential street about to be collected by truck in Fall.

First the leaves are picked up and removed by crews operating trucks with leaf baskets. Next, the street sweeper does a final cleanup of any remaining debris. Since the street sweeper moves at a slower pace than the leaf trucks, street cleanup takes longer than the pickups.

Timing is Everything

Do not rake leaves into the street too early. Piles left accumulating for several days before the scheduled pickup can be carried away by wind or rain, and block storm inlets which could cause flooding in yards or basements. Place leaves in the street no earlier than 4 PM the day prior to your scheduled collection week.

Sometimes We Get Behind

There may be times when the crews get behind schedule due to weather, equipment problems, or the amount of leaves, but rest assured we will be there to pick up the leaves. Your patience is appreciated.

Can You Schedule Later Pickups?

The timing of our collection schedule is driven by the need to have the equipment ready for snow and ice events. Almost all the trucks involved in collecting leaves, including the end loaders, are part of the front-line snow and ice control fleet. It is a lengthy process to prepare the trucks, which includes installing the nose plow equipment, inspecting and modifying the underbelly plows underneath the trucks (which stay on year-round), and installing and calibrating the liquid calcium tanks and salt spreaders. The entire conversion takes as long as 2 weeks as there are more than 20 pieces of equipment to transition from leaf collection to snow removal. Therefore, leaf pickups cannot be made any later than the current schedule. Crews begin converting the equipment during the week of Thanksgiving, after the final collection week of November 17. The Village will monitor the weather and announce if conditions allow for an additional all zone sweep.

What Happens if it Snows?

If it snows prior to the final leaf collection, leaves raked to the curb for collection will most likely be plowed back onto the parkway along with the snow. An early snowfall seriously hampers our leaf collection efforts because the same trucks that are used to pick up leaves are used to plow the streets. Depending on the weather, every attempt will be made to collect leaves that have been raked back into the street.

Bag Leaves for Pickup Option

Residents can collect leaves in yard waste bags and place them curbside for their weekly household refuse pickup. This option works well for those who do not want to commit to the scheduled leaf collection program. Final scheduled pickup for curbside bagged yard waste and bundled brush will occur the week of December 8, 2025 on your regular refuse collection day.

Please call the Department of Public Works at (847) 705-5200 with any questions.