Residents of Wake Forest, take note: the town's leafy freeloaders can no longer lounge curbside without a proper bag come mid-March. The loose leaf party ends on March 14, as reported by the Town of Wake Forest. From March 17 onward, until the autumnal equinox beckons October, you'll need to corral your yard waste into compostable paper bags or reusable containers—plastic has been given the boot.

The town's Public Works lays down some ground rules: all yard debris, be it leaves, pine needles, or rebellious twigs, must be bagged or binned, tipping the scales at no more than 50 pounds. Public Works won't even glance at yard waste cloaked in plastic, and for clarity, don’t even think about hiding your waste inside Town-issued trash or recycling carts because they’re not the hiding place for your organic leftovers.

If you're thinking about smuggling other items into the yard waste, think again. Rocks, dirt, mulch, and other miscellaneous items are not allowed, and mixing them in can get your yard waste rejected. When you set your yard waste out for collection, be mindful: place it at the curb by 7 a.m. on your normal yard waste collection day, ensuring it avoids cozying up to fences, walls, water meters, utility poles, mailboxes, fire hydrants, or cars that may obstruct the pick-up crew's path.

You don't need a treasure map to find suitable bags or containers—local discount, hardware, and home improvement stores are your X marks the spot. And if your green thumb generates too much for a 48-gallon cart to handle, the town offers a hulked out 96-gallon upgrade to contain your recyclables.