City crews busy with leaf collections

As the colors of autumn fade to brown, collection crews are hitting the streets en masse to pick up leaves area residents rake from their lawns.

Curbside leaf collection is under way in Florence, Muscle Shoals and Russellville and is expected to begin next week in Tuscumbia.

David Koonce, Florence street and solid waste manager, expects this year's leaf collection season to be a busy one.

"It's a banner year for leaves," Koonce said. "We had lots of rain back in the spring and trees were loaded up with leaves. We're expecting a busy year for our leaf collections."

Koonce said the leaves should be placed at the edge of lawns near the street and not in gutters as they can be washed away by heavy rain and clog storm drains.

Florence street crews are working in residential areas outside Cox Creek Parkway, he said. After completing leaf collection routes in those neighborhoods, they will move inside Cox Creek Parkway. After visiting the neighborhoods in the core of the city, collection crews will make another sweep of all neighborhoods.

He said the city will use seven trucks at times to collect leaves.

In Muscle Shoals, residents can rake leaves into piles at the edge of their lawn or place them in boxes or bags stacked near the street.

Steve Tumlinson, assistant director of the Muscle Shoals Public Works Department, said leaves placed in bags or boxes will be collected more quickly than those placed in a pile.

"If they put them in a bag or box and call the public works department, we will pick them up within a week," he said. "If they are in a pile and we have to vacuum them, we will get them when we can."

Robert Holden, street department superintendent in Sheffield, asks residents to place leaves in a single location near the street.

"Some people will rake up a 5-gallon bucket of leaves into a pile, then have another 5-gallon bucket a full 10 feet away and another little pile 10 feet farther down the street," Holden said. "They need to put them all into one big pile."

Tuscumbia Public Works Director Bo Stanley said residents can place their leaves in piles near the street or in bags or boxes for collection. "It may take us a little while to pick them up, but we will get them as fast as we can."

Russellville began its leaf collections Tuesday. Residents are asked to pile their leaves near the curb.

Leaves placed curbside for pick-up in all area cities should be free from limbs and other debris that could damage the collection equipment. The leaf collection season around the Shoals is expected to last until early January.

Chris Becker, regional agent for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, said instead of placing leaves near the curb for collection, home gardeners can turn them into compost.

By placing leaves and soil in a bin or pile and adding a cup of nitrogen-based fertilizer, gardeners can create compost that can be used as a soil amendment in gardens. He said the area beneath the compost pile or bin should be cleared to bare earth to help microorganisms in the soil attack the leaves and break them down into compost. Tips for recycling leaves and lawn waste are available at area extension system

offices.

Koonce said Florence uses compost made from the leaves it collects as top soil at the city's landfill.

"The leaves we pick up are very valuable to us for making topsoil," he said.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@TimesDaily.com.