City leaf collection to begin

Rake leaves to curb, not into street

Leaf pickup will begin Nov. 5 as Lorain street crews spread out over the city.

Workers will have six truck crews in different parts of the city through Nov. 30, said Public Property Manager Lori Garcia.

The department previously divided up Lorain into zones with plans to travel through certain areas on certain days.

That schedule almost never worked because of weather and the amount of leaves to pick up, Garcia said.

This year the crews will roll with city trucks loaded with large white boxes in the bed, and towing the leaf collectors, which suck up the leaves, grind them and blow the pieces into the truck box.

Once the truck is full, it will leave to dump the material at the city’s recycling center at the RTI site off East 28th Street in South Lorain. Another truck will back in to be attached to the collector the crews will continue the work, Garcia said.

As of Nov. 1, many leaves remained on the trees around Lorain, Garcia said.

Because of that, residents who rake their leaves to the curb next week should call the department to arrange

pickup, Garcia said. The number is 440-244-4294.

Residents also should notify the Public Property Department in the final week of pickup to arrange collection.

Leaves should be raked to the treelawn or curb area.

Residents should note it is illegal to rake leaves into the street; anyone doing so can be ticketed for a misdemeanor offense.

The city also offered the following safety tips:

• Do not allow children to play in the leaves near

the street or curb.

• Do not place branches or other debris in the leaf piles. Doing so may result in non-collection of leaves.

• Do not park vehicles on or near leaf piles; this will result in the leaves not being

collected.

Any leaves remaining at the curb after Nov. 30 must be bagged and placed in residents’ garbage containers for weekly trash pick-up, according to the city.

The annual yard waste collection program of Republic Services takes place through Nov. 30.

Residents should place leaves in brown paper yard waste bags or loose in 32-gallon containers clearly marked as “yard waste” and not exceeding 40 pounds.