October 26, 2007 – Most
trees in the city of Midland are still hanging onto their leaves, delaying the
startup of the fall leaf collection program. A mild fall and lack of windy, rainy weather
has played a factor in trees keeping their leaves a little longer this season.
Department of Public Services (DPS) leaf collection crews are currently conducting spot pickups on streets with large volumes of leaf piles. The first full round of leaf collection could begin as early as November 5, depending on how leaf drop progresses during the week of October 29. Once the fall program is announced, crews will make the most of daylight hours by working 10-hour shifts during the leaf collection period.
DPS usually begins collecting leaves from gutters and outlawns (between the sidewalk and curb) once a significant leaf drop has occurred city-wide. This maximizes the amount of leaves that crews can pick up at one time.
In addition to late leaf drop, DPS anticipates that leaves throughout the city will fall at the same time. This will create larger-than-usual leaf piles and could slow down the first round of collection.
Snow is another concern with a late leaf drop. When streets turn to snow and ice, leaf collection crews are reassigned to plowing and salting streets to ensure public safety. A significant snowfall can also find uncollected leaves pushed back into yards by City snowplows.
Bagging leaves in kraft paper compost bags or placing leaves in yard waste bins can help alleviate frustrations that the late leaf drop brings. As an added benefit, the City has suspended the 25-cent per bag sticker for the remainder of the yard waste collection season.
Residents are encouraged to watch the local media, MGTV-5,
and the City of
For questions or additional information, contact DPS at
-30-