Leaf Collection Starts Oct. 28 in Geneva

One of the great services provided by the city of Geneva is leaf collection, and you should take advantage of the convenience and know when the routes. The following is a little "how to," courtesy of the city.

The city provides three scheduled curbside collections in late October and November—and a bag collection program in December.

The community is divided into three geographical pickup zones. Each zone will be collected three times during the six-week program using leaf vacuum equipment.

Every street will be collected one time during each of the three separate pickup events. Residents are required to rake leaves into the parkway prior to your scheduled pickup date.

One very important note is to NOT rake leaves into the street. That can clog up the water collection system.

Residents will be required to rake their leaves to the parkway prior to their scheduled pickup date. 

Each zone requires two to three days to complete. On the scheduled start date of that zone, the crews will start at the beginning of the zone to insure no customers are missed. 

PARKWAY LEAF COLLECTION DATES IN GENEVA 2013:

Zone A (East of the Fox River)

• First pickup: Nov. 5 (Tuesday)
• Second pickup: Nov. 15 (Friday)
• Final pickup: Nov. 27 (Wednesday)

Zone B (West of the Fox River, North of Route 38; North of Kaneville and North of Keslinger)

• First pickup: Oct. 28 (Monday)
• Second pickup: Nov. 7 (Thursday)
• Final pickup: Nov. 19 (Tuesday)

Zone C (West of the Fox River, South of Route 38; South of Kaneville and South of Keslinger)

• Oct. 31 (Thursday)
• Nov. 12 (Tuesday)
• Nov. 22 (Friday)

During the month of December, residents may also place leaves in paper yard waste bags and place out for collection on your normal refuse collection day.

Refuse stickers are NOT required for the bags containing leaves only during the Dec. 1-28 period.

Complete details, including a map and regulations, may be found at the city of Geneva website.

Here are a couple of hints and rules worth noting:

• Rake leaves into the parkway next to the curb—Keep them about 12 inches from the street. (And don't let them get into the street, for gosh sakes.)

• Get the leaves there by Monday prior to pickup and not later than 7 a.m. the day of pickup—Yes, it's difficult to schedule time during the work week, but it won't do any good to rake on Sunday if the pickup is Thursday. The wind will blow them to kingdom come or your neighbor's yard or the street.

• Don't park your car on the street that week—If you block the vacuum from getting to your leaves, you might miss out.

• Take advantage of free pickup of leaves in paper bags from Dec. 1 to Dec. 28—After the curbside vacuum collection period is over, you can still get free leaf collection. Allied Waste handles this part of the collection process. You put leaves in paper yard-waste bags, and place them with your scheduled refuse collection. Refuse stickers are not required during this time period for leaves. No other yard waste (grass, branches, etc.) can be mixed with the leaves.

• Do it yourself #1—The city suggests using a mulching lawnmower. Mulching leaves provides nutrients for the soil.

• Do it yourself #2—This advice from the city: Place leaves in and around plant beds and under trees and shrubs. Again, this provides good nutrients for the soil insulation for the plants.

SOURCE: City of Geneva