Fall is here, and we all know what that means — leaves, and lots of them, will be falling. We know that this creates extra work for homeowners and we are here to help with your efforts.
Here are a few options for disposing of your leaves.
Mix them into the soil in your gardens or compost them. These are both great ways to return nutrients to the soil.
Haul them to the landfill. There is no fee for disposal of leaves and brush that is smaller than one-half inch in diameter.
Rake them to the curb and allow our Public Works crew to vacuum them (in the compact urban area of the city). We will not start to pick up leaves until a good majority of them have fallen, which is typically mid- to late October.
If you would like our Public Works crew to pick up your leaves, we ask that you please keep the following in mind.
Rake your leaves to the curb. If you have a ditch in front of your house, please rake the leaves to the shoulder of the street, and do not leave them in the ditch. It’s okay to put your leaves on the pavement, as long as they are along the shoulder.
Do not bag your leaves or place them in any kind of container. If you are concerned about the leaves blowing away, you can cover them with a tarp that is weighted down at the edges.
Do not mix anything else in with the leaves. Brush, branches, rocks, and foreign material can slow down the process and damage the vacuum. If our crew notices anything other than leaves, we will not be able to pick up at your location.
We urge residents to start raking leaves to the curb as they are falling and not wait until your trees are bare. Waiting too long may mean we can’t get to your leaves at all because the snow arrived early or our crew availability is limited with winter coming.
Our crew follows a route around the city. The time it takes to do this route varies considerably based on the amount of leaves to be picked up, traffic, weather conditions and many other variables. We may be back within a week or it may take three; it’s impossible to predict. We will continue picking up leaves until it snows or they are all picked up — whichever comes first.
Your leaves will be delivered to one of several sites for composting, so they will be put to good use.
If you have questions regarding leaf pickup, please contact the Public Works office at 764-2560.
Nathan Bond is the Public Works director for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at 764-2560.
