Fall Leaf and Yard Waste Pick-up

Annually we collect about 20,000 cubic yards of just leaves — not counting other yard debris — this is the equivalent of nearly 200,000 lawn bags!  This requires a major effort each fall, beginning in mid-October.  Specially equipped trucks vacuum up piles of leaves placed by the roadside.  It’s a labor intensive process and takes several weeks just to go through the town once, but it can take much longer depending on the accumulation of leaves and weather conditions.  Regular weekly pick up of yard waste is ongoing while loose leaves are being collected and is a much quicker process.  Leaves and grass clippings placed in reusable containers or yard waste bags along with tree branches (under 4 feet long) piled neatly at curbside will continue to be picked up on your regularly scheduled yard waste collection day.  Consider this alternative for faster leaf pickup. Also:

• Please be sure to place loose leaves on the lawn at the edge but NOT in the roadway. 
• Also make sure that storm water inlet grates are kept clear to ensure proper drainage. 
• Please remove basketball hoops and other obstructions from the roadway edge, as these slow the pickup process and can pose a hazard to our work crews. 
• Please keep yard waste and branches separate from leaf piles to assist collection.

Loose leaf collection begins mid-October, and we make every effort to complete three full rounds of the town before Thanksgiving.  This includes working four Saturdays beginning late October.  A tentative pickup schedule is posted on the website and updated regularly.  However, please be advised that winter weather may hamper collection efforts.  Residents should put out leaves for pickup as early as possible, and consider using lawn bags or reusable containers if placing leaves curbside after Thanksgiving.  If conditions permit, we will continue to collect loose leaves as long as possible into December.

*The Town no longer sells paper yard waste bags; they are available for comparable prices at many local businesses including Phillips Hardware, Curtis Lumber, Stewarts, Hannaford, Lowes, Price Chopper, Walmart and more.


Schedule and Map
Leaves are picked up according to zones within the town. We start in Zone 1 and work through each street until all the leaves are picked up in that zone. We then move to the next zone and continue the process until all zones have been completed.  Leaf collection will continue until all leaves are picked up pending no significant snowfall.

What Pickup Zone Am I In?
To find out which leaf collection zone your street is in, you can view the map to the right (click on it to view a larger image) or look it up by finding your street name in our Pickup Zone by Street listing below the schedule on this page.
 
Approximate dates for loose leaf collection can be found below; this schedule is updated frequently once the collection begins. Please note that weather conditions play a major role in our ability to adhere to the schedule.