Contact: Lewis Cutsail, 240-777-7634
For Immediate Release: October 1, 2001

County Leaf Collection Starts November 1;
Continues Through Mid-December

Leaves in the down-county areas, where the County provides vacuum collection services (see map), will be picked up from November 1 through mid-December.

Dated signs announcing the collections will be posted along streets. Green signs indicate the first collection, and red signs will serve as the second and final notice.

The leaf vacuum collection district is bounded by I-495, I-270, the Rockville City limits, Norbeck, Bel Pre and Bonifant Roads, Northwest Branch Park, and the District of Columbia and Prince George's County lines.

Leaves should be placed in piles or containers on the grass or behind the curb. Placing leaves in streets or alleys can disrupt traffic and surface drainage, hamper snow removal operations or pose a fire hazard to automobiles parked over them.

Collections are restricted to leaves only. Sticks, branches or coarse garden debris should be placed in containers or tied in bundles not more than four feet long and placed where household trash is regularly picked up.

Residents who miss the two scheduled vacuum collections will have to place their leaves in paper yard waste bags or reusable containers, which will be picked up on the regular yard waste collection day. Leaves placed in plastic bags will not be accepted.

The Department of Public Works and Transportation reminds residents that although every effort is made to maintain the posted schedules, weather and equipment problems can affect the timing.

For more information or to determine if your residence is within the boundaries of the leaf vacuum collection district, call the Division of Highway Services at 240-777-ROAD or go to the Department of Public Works and Transportation's website at www.dpwt.com and click on "Highway Services."