Time to Rake: Leaf Pickup Begins Monday

It's time to get out the rake to clean up that leaf-covered yard for Greenwich's annual period of leaf collections, beginning for some sections of town on Monday.

Depending on the weather, the town's leaf collection takes six to eight weeks. "It becomes a matter of timing," said Joseph Roberto, the town's highway superintendent. "We don't want to start when leaves are still on the trees, and we don't want to start too late when there is the possibility of inclement weather."

To prepare for collection, residents are advised to rake leaves into piles at the shoulder of the road, off the pavement. Sticks, branches and garden refuse will not be collected. Residents may also place leaves in biodegradable paper bags, but no plastic bags of leaves will be collected.

Collections for each section of town, divided by streets and neighborhoods, will begin on different dates. The first collection will begin Monday for sections numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. "Half the leaves in the town come from the Old Greenwich/Riverside area," Roberto said. "We try to send as many forces as we can muster there first."

Collections for section numbers 11,13 and 17 will begin Monday, Nov. 22. Once the first collection is completed, the second and final collection will begin.

Street names and corresponding sections can be found on the town's website.

According to the town's highway division, the town removes more than 30,000 cubic yards of leaves each year. The town provides only two collections per section during the pickup program. Once the collections are complete, Roberto said the leaves are shipped to the Holy Hill Resource Recovery Facility on Holly Hill Road in Greenwich, which sends them fr composting.

The highway division is offering a 24-hour leaf collection hotline with scheduling information at 203-618-7698. Rapid progress or bad weather delays may change the schedule of leaf collections, but using the hotline will help residents keep informed to know when to put leaves out. "We recommend that residents stay ahead by raking early and frequently," Roberto said in a statement.

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