Elgin residents can place all yard waste out for free collection beginning Monday, Oct. 1. Prepaid refuse stickers are not required and bags will be picked up on regular weekly trash collection days by Waste Management.
Leaf collection services vary depending on where you live. Certain areas of the city have been designated as bagging areas. Residents living in bagging areas are required to place their leaves in paper yard waste bags for collection by Waste Management. Residents living in non-bagging areas can rake loose leaves into the street along the curb beginning Oct. 8. City crews will pick up loose leaves beginning at 6 a.m. on first day of a regularly scheduled weekly pick-up. Residents can learn if they live in an area that allows for bag or street collection by visiting the City’s website at www.cityofelgin.org. A special leaf pick-up brochure will be mailed to all residents within the next week. The special leaf pick-up program ends November 30, 2007.
General leaf pick-up guidelines are:
• State law prohibits disposing of leaves and other yard waste in landfills and leaf burning is prohibited in Elgin.
• Leaves placed in plastic bags will not be collected.
• Residents receiving on-street leaf collection should rake leaves into the street along the curb by 6 a.m. the first day of their scheduled weekly pick-up.
• Trash, branches or other yard waste should not be mixed with leaf piles.
• Citizens are urged to avoid on-street parking on scheduled collection days as leaf piles blocked by parked cars will not be collected.
• Do not allow children to play in leaf piles located in the street.
• Weather and other delays may affect on-street leaf collection. Residents are encouraged to bag leaves whenever possible.
• Residents interested in learning more about composting leaves can go to the City’s website at www.cityofelgin.org.
New to this year’s program is the addition of backyard compost bins for sale to residents. “We thought this would be a great opportunity to encourage residents to reduce & reuse their own yard waste. Composting is a perfect fit with the City’s new green initiatives,” stated Tish Powell, Administrative Superintendent for the Elgin Public Works Department. Compost bins may be purchased at Elgin City Hall for $30/each and are available while supplies last.
For more information contact the Elgin Public Works Department, at (847) 697-3160, or visit the City’s website at www.cityofelgin.org.