Common Council

Fall Leaf Collection to Begin Monday, September 25

The City of Madison Streets Division will begin curbside leaf and yard waste collection for the fall on Monday, September 25. 

As in years past, there will be no leaf collection schedule.  Streets Division crews will follow a rotation.  Beginning on September 25, both west and east side crews will begin collecting leaves and yard waste from residences within the Monday refuse collection district.   Once crews have collected from each street within the Monday refuse district once, crews will move into the Tuesday district.  After servicing the Tuesday district, crews then rotate to the Wednesday district, followed by the Thursday and then Friday refuse districts.  Upon completion of Friday refuse district, crews will begin the cycle again in Monday district. 

Crews will continue to rotate through the city in this manner at least three times and crews will continue to collect leaves and yard waste for as long as the weather allows.    

Besides leaves, crews will collect yard waste.  Yard waste is generally considered to be leafy plant material, such as weeds, and also small twigs that are less than 18 inches in length.  Crews will also collect other garden and plant debris like tomato plants, pumpkins, pine cones, sunflower stalks, and so on during the fall leaf collection period.

When placing yard waste to the curb, the Streets Division would like to remind residents to follow the collection guidelines and not place their material into the gutter or in the street.  Leaf and yard waste piles left in the street result in the material being washed into our lakes during the autumn rains, which leads to increased phosphorus levels that contribute to algae and weed growth.  Plus, leaf and yard waste piles can wash into the storm drains and clog them, which can lead to street ponding.

The Streets Division asks that residents pile their leaves and yard waste loose on their terrace or in compostable paper bags.  If compostable or plastic bags are used, they should be left open at the top so crews can identify their contents. Residents can also place a tarp on top of their leaves to prevent them from blowing. 

Brush should not be mixed within the yard waste and leaf pile.  Brush is processed differently than yard waste, so these piles need to be separated.  Commingled piles will not be collected.  Also, if possible, residents are encouraged to place their leaf and yard waste piles at least 4 feet from obstructions, such as parked cars, terrace trees, and mailboxes. Piles that cannot be safely collected will be left behind.

Due to the uncertainty of workloads and weather conditions, predicting when leaf collection crews will be in a given area can be very difficult.  The Streets Division has several options residents can use to get the latest information on where crews are working.

During leaf collection season, daily updates regarding the whereabouts of collection crews can be found on the collection area maps on the leaf and yard waste section of our website, www.cityofmadison.com/streets.  Residents can also call the 24-hour hotline information line at 608-267-2088 for weekly collection estimate updates.  And residents can contact the Streets Division office that services their neighborhood.  Residents east of S. Park Street, and that includes the isthmus, can call the east side Streets Division at 608-246-4532 and residents west of S. Park Street can call the west side Streets Division at 608-266-4681.