The City of Arlington is stepping up its game this fall with an increased effort to keep neighborhoods free of fallen leaves. The residential curbside collection program for bagged leaves is getting a boost after a successful pilot run last year. Republic Services, the company tasked with the collection, will add more routes to its bulk/brush/yard waste collection schedule, to specifically accommodate the anticipated leafy surplus post-Thanksgiving, according to the City of Arlington.
For those unsure about how to dispose of their leaves, the city has laid out clear guidelines. Households should continue to place their bagged leaves curbside for manual collection by bulk/brush/yard waste crews. Republic Services is geared up to quickly collect up to twelve 30-gallon bags of leaves per house, per collection day. But do not forget, these bagged leaves will not automatically find their way into a composting system; they will be treated as waste unless residents take additional steps.
Arlington is thus nudging its citizens toward leaf recycling - an environmentally conscious practice. The city encourages residents to mow or mulch their leaves instead, actions that can help fertilize their lawns or create compost. For those who wish to have their leaves recycled, the Arlington Landfill at 800 Mosier Valley Road continues to accept unbagged leaves for recycling free of charge. Should leaves be in plastic bags, these must be de-bagged, whereas leaves in paper landscape bags can be directly dropped off for recycling.
The shift in strategy follows the city's decision to stop using designated leaf drop-off sites in parks last year, a move that came after Republic Services and city staff could no longer sustainably manage the sites. Overflowing bins and littered parking lots sparked neighborhood complaints, not to mention the staggering 628 tons of bagged leaves collected at these sites in 2022—a 47% jump from the previous year.
