MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
Leaf pick-up starts later this month
As you’ve probably seen, the City of Fort Wayne is improving efficiencies and saving taxpayer money this year for our annual leaf collection. The Street Department is doing two pick-up cycles instead of usual three, and we’re offering priority pick-up for bagged leaves left at the curb. But there’s a third option for managing the leaves in your yard.
I’m asking Fort Wayne residents to consider a “green” alternative to the traditional leaf collection this fall: mulching leaves on site in the yard.
Instead of raking all leaves to the park strip for pick-up, City residents can mow through the leaves, leaving them to biodegrade in the lawn and providing extra nutrients for the grass and soil. Turf experts from Purdue and Michigan State have found this to be an effective method for managing leaves.
If you have a mulching lawn mower and a few trees in your yard, this is something that will probably work for you, yet leave your lawn looking good. The fewer leaves our crews have to pick up, the faster they can complete leaf pick-up and the less they have to haul to the City’s biosolids field. This benefits your lawn and our resources.
Brooks Beatty, assistant street commissioner and City resident, has committed to mulching the leaves in his own yard this year.
He said he looked at the research and thought this was a time-saving option – less raking – for his property while also providing environmental benefits. He knows this might not work for people with a large volume of leaves, but for most homes, this is a great way to help their lawns at no cost.
The City of Fort Wayne’s leaf collection will start on the city’s north side Oct. 27 with two collection cycles instead of three as done in years past. Weather permitting, leaf collection will conclude Dec. 12. For leaf collection dates for your neighborhood, check your City Utilities October bill or the City’s website at www.cityoffortwayne.org.
During leaf season, residents can call the leaf hotline at 427-2302 or visit www.cityoffortwayne.org for the day’s pick-up locations.
Leaves for pick-up must be raked to the park strip. The street department recommends having them there by the first day of the pick-up week. They should not be raked into street. Burning leaves within the city is illegal, and leaves cannot be placed into the trash.
For pick-up of bagged leaves in biodegradable leaf bags, call the 311 call center from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays at either 311 or 427-8311.
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