As part of its ongoing efforts to keep neighborhoods clean, the City of Arlington is offering enhanced residential curbside collection of bagged leaves for a second year. 

Following last year's successful pilot program, Republic Services will have additional bulk/brush/yard waste routes to assist with the leaf collection this fall. The City and Republic will consider factors such as timing of the first big drop in foliage, weather, and holiday collections, in deciding when to start and end the additional collection routes. The additional bagged leaf collection routes are expected to begin the week after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Now that we have trash carts, how should we dispose of our leaves?

Continue to place bags of leaves at the curb for the bulk/brush/yard waste crews to manually collect. 

Based on collection rules, Republic Services collects up to twelve (12) 30-gallon bags of leaves per collection day. Click here to learn more about bulk/brush/yard waste collections.

What are my options for leaf recycling?

Bagged leaves that are picked up at the curb will not be recycled. Residents are encouraged to mow their leaves, which helps fertilize lawns, or mulch them for compost.

Residents and landscape contractors also can continue to take unbagged leaves to the Arlington Landfill, 800 Mosier Valley Road, for recycling at no cost. If the leaves are in plastic bags, they must be de-bagged. If they are in paper landscaping bags, they can simply be dropped off. Click here to learn more about the Arlington Landfill.

The City discontinued designated leaf drop-off sites in parks in 2023. More than 628 tons of bagged leaves were collected at drop-off sites in 2022, a 47% increase from the year before. Republic Services and City staff were unable to sustain maintenance of the sites, which drew neighborhood complaints about overflowing dumpsters and piles of bagged leaves left in the park parking lots.

Related links:

• Arlington Residents Can Dispose of Household Items at Landfill for Free Up to Three Times a Year
• Residents Can Help Champion a Clean Arlington by Reporting, Preventing Illegal Dumping
• Clean Arlington initiative