Philadelphia’s Streets Department will begin collecting and recycling fall leaves from the city’s curbs Monday but most of you will need to take your leaves to the city to get them composted. The annual collection service will last six weeks.
Anyone in the city can carefully put leaves in biodegradable bags and drop off those leaves at nearly two dozen sanitation centers around the city. (Click here for a full list.)
But for those in neighborhoods where the leaves really pile up, the city will use machines to clear the decaying leaves. There are regulations, however, to ensure the leaves are picked up on the designated days for each neighborhood.
The streets department will only collect leaves that are neatly raked to the curb or in biodegradable paper bags. This reduces contamination so the leaves can be recycled. Additionally, residents are urged to avoid mixing trash into the bagged leaves since they won’t be usable.
People who wish to recycle or remove their leaves, but are not in an area selected for the collection program, can drop off their bagged leaves at one of 23 locations spread out throughout the city on Saturdays (excluding the Saturday following Thanksgiving) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Nov. 19 to Dec. 17. You can also drop your bagged leaves at any of the city's five Sanitation Convenience Centers from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
The city will use compactors to crush the leaves. The leaves will then be composted in Fairmount Park, said the streets department.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Leaves can be also reused for personal composting at your own home.
