Loose Leaf Collection Process

Loose Leaf Collection Process

City crews make two passes each season using equipment, which vacuums the loose leaf piles off the ground. Trucks work their way through the City by pre-assigned routes, alternating the starting point from year to year. Each neighborhood is worked based on a street-by-street pattern similar to your mail carrier delivering mail. As the truck drives down each street, it stops once in front of each house to vacuum any leaf pile there. Once a street, neighborhood or route is completed, the truck does not go back to that location.

Residents must place leaf piles at the edge of their yard, free from foreign debris and away from potential obstructions but close enough to the street that equipment can reach them. Do NOT rake or blow leaves into the street. Foreign debris such as limbs, vines, rocks and trash can cause damage to the vacuum equipment so keep them out of your pile. Examples of potential obstructions include but are not limited to: parked vehicles, mailboxes, fire hydrants, water meters, guy wires, utility boxes, fences and landscaping. Due to the risk of damage, leaf piles too close to obstructions or mixed with foreign debris will NOT be collected.

Leaf piles that are put out after the date and time listed for your area may not be collected. It will take crews anywhere from several days to all week to complete an area. The loose leaf collection can be affected by both weather and volume of leaves so this schedule is subject to change without notice.

If you are unsure of your collection zone, here are 3 options to find out:

1. On the Seasonal Loose Leaf Collection page, enter your address in the "Leaf Collection and Yard Waste Address Search" box.
2. Click on “MyRaleigh Services” link. Enter your address in the search box and the information pertaining to your address will appear.
3. Or, call the Transportation Maintenance Service Unit at 919-996-6446 and the office staff will assist you.

Residents may see collection trucks out working prior to the start of the season as City staff tests the equipment.