Fall leaf collection dates for many Maryland counties

October 23, 8:40 AMBaltimore Gardening ExaminerCatherine Mezensky

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Many counties in Maryland offer fall leaf collection. (photo by John Byer)

Leaves are beginning to fall all over Maryland at this time of year and will blanket your lawn and garden with a lovely carpet of warm autumn colors. Ideally, it is best to compost fall leaves but if that is not possible many local municipalities offer fall leaf collection and recycling. Follow the guidelines on your local Public Works website on to how the leaves should be set out and what other materials are allowed. If your city or county is not represented here call your local waste management division and inquire about their leaf collection schedules and policies. If you prefer to compost your leaves see the Examiner article, “Fall composting tips”.

Anne Arundel County

Leaf pick-up is generally on the regular recycling day. Use 32 gallon or smaller bags and tie the tops shut rather than use twist ties. Don’t mix leaves or yard waste with garbage and bundle sticks and branches so they are easier to pick up. See the information on the Anne Arundel County Leaf pick-up page.

Baltimore City

Leaves and landscaping refuse picked up on regular trash days from October 1-January 29. Put the leaves in transparent or a clearly marked bag. Residents are limited to 10 bags of leaves per pick-up. Leaves can also be left at the Northwest Sanitation Yard at 2840 Sission Street Mondays through Saturdays from 9AM-5PM. Call 311 for more information.

Baltimore County

Leaf collection will proceed according to distributed schedules. In order to save resources, Baltimore County will discontinue collecting yard materials separately on December 15 and will begin again in April. During the winter, yard refuse should be put out with the regular trash. Put the leaves in bags that weigh less that 30 pounds and have them out the night before collection. To see more details consult Baltimore County’s Leaf Collection Policy.

Frederick County

Yard waste should be brought to the Frederick County compost site and is not acceptable in landfills. To see how to do this, see the yard waste entry under “Recycling in Frederick County”.

Garrett County

Composting is now in a new spot in the landfill on Oakland Sang Road. Follow the signs marked “leaves” to drop your leaves off in the appropriate place. To get directions see the Garrett County solid waste and recycling page.

Harford County

Harford County has a yard waste, lawn and garden trimmings drop-off site. It is at the Compost Facility, located at 3241 Scarboro Road. They only allow branches under 6’ long and 6” in diameter. Consult their web site for further details.

Howard County

Howard County offers curbside recycling of yard waste from April 1, 2009 to January 21, 2010. This is available to many residents on their regular recycling day. Place leaves and other organic garden refuse either in reusable containers or brown paper bags. The county also works with the Howard County Master Gardeners by assisting with the Rake and Take program. This brings together people with excess leaves and gardeners who need more leaves for compost. For more details on yard waste collection or to find contact information for Rake and Take, consult the yard waste recycling page for the Howard County Department of Public Works.

Kent County

Leaves and other yard waste must be bagged and placed in a container. They will be collected on regular garbage days. See the Kent County Department of Public Works Garbage and Recycling Guidelines. (PDF)

Montgomery County

Fall leaf collection will begin on November 9, 2009 and run for 6-8 weeks. There will be two collection dates, one before and one after Thanksgiving. Pile leaves along the edge of the road but not directly in the street or gutter. Make sure leaves are not blocked by cars and do not use plastic bags. For more information see the 2009 County Leaf Vacuum Program page.

Prince George’s County

Bagged leaves are collected weekly on the date of the regular trash pickup. This will occur between April 15-January 15. In many subdivisions leaves are collected by vacuuming. For more information on if your area is included and when, see the Leaf Collection FAQ.

St. Mary’s County

There appears to be no information on fall leaf collection on the St. Mary’s county Department of Public Works web page, but there is a useful article on home composting. Scroll down the page to view the article.

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