Four Options to Get Rid of Your Leaves

The 2008 leaf collection season for the Town of West Hartford begins with curbside pick-up of bagged leaves on Monday, October 14th and continues for 10 weeks through Friday, December 19th. Leaf bags should be at the curb by 6:00 AM on your regular refuse collection day.

Curbside vacuum leaf collection will begin on Monday, November 3rd and will conclude on Friday, December 7th. Call 570-3714 to find out approximately when the crews will be in your neighborhood.

For the curbside leaf collection schedule on your street, type the first 3-4 letters of your street:
  

You can view the leaf collection quadrant map HERE.

The Town provides West Hartford residents with three options for recycling leaves:

 1. Weekly Curbside Collection of Paper Leaf Bags
HOW:

Place bagged leaves at the curb in biodegradable paper leaf bags with a 30-gallon capacity. 60 lbs. maximum weight permitted. No plastic bags will be accepted. Bags contaminated with branches, rocks or trash will not be collected.Here is a list of paper leaf bag suppliers.

WHEN: Leaf bags are picked up each week on your trash collection day from Monday, October 14 to Friday, December 19.  (No collection on Columbus Day, October 13 and Veterans Day, November 11). Leaf bags must be at the curb by 6:00 AM.

2. One Vacuum Collection of Leaves Raked to Curbside
HOW:

Rake leaves to the curb in one long row along curbside; do not put leaves in the street. Be sure there are no foreign objects like rocks, branches or brush clippings with your leaves. There will be no clean-up round this year.  Once the vacuum crews have been by, your options are to bag your leaves for curbside collection or bring them to the Recycling Center.
WHEN:

The leaf vacuum crew will make ONE round through town starting Monday, November 3 and finishing Friday, December 5. Call 570-3714 or type in your address in the box at the top of the page to find out approximately when the crews will be in your neighborhood.

3. Drop Off Leaves at the Brixton Street Recycling Center
HOW:

If your leaves are bagged in biodegradable paper leaf bags with a 30-gallon capacity, just drop them in the designated area at the
Recycling Center, 25 Brixton Street. If your leaves are in plastic bags, empty your leaves in the bin and then properly dispose of the plastic bag later.
WHEN:

During the leaf collection season (Oct. 14 - Dec. 19), hours are Monday from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM, Tuesday through Friday, 7:30  AM to 4:00 PM, and Saturday, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Note for residents with landscape contractors: The leaf voucher program has been eliminated. All private contractors will be subject to the $54 per ton charge for leaves brought to the Recycling Center.

4. A fourth option to leaf removal is mulching. Dana Hallenbeck, Director of Public Works, makes this recommendation: "I strongly suggest all residents consider mulching their leaves with their lawn mower. I live in town, have many trees on my property, and have not raked leaves to curbside in 9 years. I simply mow my leaves. It does require you to mow them weekly, and there are some weeks I have had to go over the lawn twice - and on very rare occasions, a third time (once with the mower deck set higher and the second or third time with the deck back to normal). This method works well. Below are before and after photos of my rear yard using this method.

The Leaf Voucher Program has been eliminated. All private contractors will be subject to the $54 per ton charge for leaves brought to the Recycling Center.

The Town's 24-hour "Leaf Line" was activated on September 24, 2008. Residents may call 570-3714 for an up-to-date recorded message on the leaf collection schedule. Information on leaf collection is also aired on West Hartford Government & Education Channel (Comcast Channel 19).

Here are a few points for residents to remember about leaf collection:

  • Remove branches, sticks and stones from leaves because they can injure leaf collection personnel, damage equipment and contaminate future mulch.
  • Rake leaves to the edge of the road at curbside - not into the street or on the sidewalk. Wet leaves cause slippery driving conditions and drainage problems if they clog catchbasins.
  • Do not park your car on top of or near a leaf pile. Hot catalytic converters can start a fire and block collection vehicles.

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