The City of Bloomington’s annual leaf collection program starts Monday.
Curbside vacuum pickup will continue through Dec. 24. Each resident can receive one pickup during that time by entering their address into a map.
Signs will be placed in each neighborhood during the next few weeks to show the scheduled day for that neighborhood. People can rake leaves to the curb, but are asked to not put them on the sidewalks or blocking drains.
The city also gives other options in addition to vacuuming their leaves, such as mulch or composting. The city has a video with information on ways to deal with leaves without getting them picked up. As part of this project, 21 households are piloting the use of alternatives, like composting this year.
The other options are being encouraged for a number of reasons, according to the city website. Some reasons include leaf collection costs which are about about $520,000 per year for the city, the difficulty to keep the program staffed because the job is so physical and the diesel trucks that have to run hurting the environment.
For more about the city’s Innovating Leaf Collection initiative, visit this website.
