NYC Department of Sanitation
Fall Leaf Composting Collection Program

Suspension of fall leaf composting collection program
How leaf collection dates are determined
Before & after DSNY fall leaf collection
Leaf collection districts
Leaf collection set-out requirements
How to set out leaves for composting collection
Where to purchase paper lawn & leaf bags
Promotion of fall leaf composting program
Other types of yard waste
Info on DSNY's composting programs

Suspension of Fall Leaf Composting Collection Program

Because of budget cuts, the fall leaf composting collection program is suspended until further notice.

Fall leaves will be collected with regular household refuse on regularly scheduled refuse collection days. Paper lawn and leaf bags are not required, since leaves will be collected as regular trash. 

Since we will not have the raw material to create more compost, the compost giveback program is also suspended until leaf composting collections are restored. 

PLEASE NOTE:
NYCLeaves: Project LeafDrop is a new coalition of community gardens and greening groups dedicated to diverting fallen leaves from the trash bin to the compost bin. Community gardens participating in “Project LeafDrop” are inviting neighborhood residents to bring their bagged leaves (in paper or clear plastic bags without twigs or trash) to their gardens on specific dates in November and early December.  The gardeners will use these “browns” to improve the balance of their compostable materials or share them with other groups working to enrich undernourished urban open spaces.

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How leaf collection dates are determined

See program suspension  info.

NYC's leaf collection dates are scheduled for the weeks when, historically, the largest amount of leaves normally fall. The goal is to divert as many leaves as possible from landfills and compost this material, while controlling collection costs.

Actual leaf fall is subject to variations in weather, rainfall, temperature, and sustained frost. Once collection dates are set in late August, the vehicles, labor, and other resources that are amassed to conduct this annual collection cannot easily be switched or extended.  

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What to do with leaves before & after DSNY fall leaf composting collection

See program suspension  info.

Except during DSNY's Leaf Collection Period, residents and institutions may use black plastic lawn & leaf bags for leaf and yard waste, since organics are usually collected as garbage.

We heartily encourage composting leaves and other yard waste wherever possible, by raking leaves into a pile and letting nature do its work. In a few months you’ll have a rich soil amendment, and save the cost and labor of bagging leaves. See www.nyccompost.org for info on how to compost, or contact the NYC Compost Project site in your borough, funded by the DSNY Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling.

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Leaf collection districts

See program suspension info.

The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) collects fall leaves from 37 of the City's 59 community districts and turns them into high-quality compost at our composting sites. To find out what DSNY does with collected leaves, go to fall leaves.

NYC's leaf collection districts include all of Queens and Staten Island and sections of the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Bronx neighborhoods receiving leaf collection (districts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12): Allerton • Baychester • Bedford Park • Bronxdale • Bronx River • Bruckner • Castle Hill • City Island • Clason Point • Co-op City • Country Club • Eastchester • Eastchester Bay • Edenwald • Edgewater • Fieldston • Fish Bay • Fordham • Harding Park • Jerome Park • Kingsbridge • Kingsbridge Heights • Laconia • Locust Point • Marble Hill • Morris Park • Norwood • Olinville • Parkchester • Pelham Bay • Pelham Gardens • Pelham Parkway • Riverdale • Schuylerville • Silver Beach • Soundview • Spencer Estates • Spuyten Duyvil • Throgs Neck • Unionport • University Heights • Van Cortlandt Village • Van Nest • Wakefield • Westchester Square • Williamsbridge • Woodlawn • Zerega

Brooklyn neighborhoods receiving leaf collection (districts: 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18): Bath Beach • Bay Ridge • Bensonhurst • Bergen Beach • Boerum Hill • Borough Park • Brighton Beach • Brooklyn Heights • Brooklyn Navy Yard • Brownsville • Canarsie • Carroll Gardens • City Line • Clinton Hill • Cobble Hill • Coney Island • Crown Heights • Cypress Hills • Ditmas Village • Downtown • Dyker Heights • East Flatbush • East Gravesend • East New York • Erasmus • Farragut • Flatbush • Flatlands • Fort Greene • Fort Hamilton • Fulton Ferry • Fulton Mall • Georgetown • Gerritsen Beach • Gowanus • Gravesend • Highland Park • Homecrest • Kensington • Kings Bay • Kings Highway • Madison • Manhattan Beach • Mapleton • Marine Park • Midwood • Mill Basin • Mill Island • New Lots • Ocean Hill • Ocean Parkway • Park Slope • Plum Beach • Prospect Lefferts Gardens • Prospect Park South • Red Hook • Remsen Village • Rugby • Seagate • Sheepshead Bay • Starrett City • Sunset Park • Windsor Terrace • Wingate

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Leaf set-out requirements

See program suspension info.

According to NYC's Yard Waste Composting Law, NYC residents in the city's leaf collection districts must set out their fall leaves in paper bags (or in unlined rigid containers) during the designated DSNY fall leaf collection period. To find out what DSNY does with collected leaves, go to fall leaves.

It is illegal for landscapers to dispose of yard waste by placing it at the curb for DSNY collection. According to NYC's Yard Waste Composting Law, violators will be subject to escalating fines starting in October 2008. This law also requires landscapers to bring leaf and yard waste to a composting facility.

Note: Outside of the fall leaf collection period, residents in the leaf collection districts can set out their leaves for regular trash pickup. If you don't live in a leaf collection district, set out your leaves with your regular garbage.

Benefits of using paper bags to set out your leaves for DSNY collection during the fall leaf collection period:

• Paper bags decompose naturally with the leaves.
• Plastic bags do not decompose; removing and discarding them costs the city a lot of time, money, and effort.
• Less plastic means cleaner, higher quality compost that we can return to you through our free compost giveback events.

Various retailers and supermarkets (such as Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe's, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Target, True Value Hardware, and Waldbaums) typically sell 30-gallon, paper lawn & leaf bags.

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How to set out leaves for DSNY collection:

See program suspension info.

1. Place leaves into large paper leaf bags. Leaves may also be set out loose in unlined garbage cans. You can be fined for setting out your leaves in plastic bags during DSNY’s leaf collection period.

2. Place leaves at the curb on the designated Saturday evenings.

3. Leaf pickup may take place early the next morning, so place leaves at the curb on the designated Saturday night. Leaves not picked up the next day, will be collected later in the week.

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Promotion of fall leaf composting collection program

See program suspension  info.

The DSNY Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling promotes the fall leaf program through the following methods:

• mailing postcards to residents and institutions in the participating districts
• placing ads in community papers in the participating districts
• placing posters on leaf collection trucks

Beginning in fall 2007, the DSNY Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling set up info tables at stores (within the city's leaf collection districts) that sell paper lawn & leaf bags. The info tables contained literature about fall leaf collection, composting, and recycling, and also included appearances of the new leaf bag character. Passersby were offered free Polaroid photos of themselves next to NYC's newest recycling mascot.

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