Brush and Leaf Pickup Begins April 20

2026 Spring Brush and Leaf Pickup.

The Town of Ithaca Public Works Department will pick up yard waste (brush, leaves, pine needles, dead flowers, garden waste, and grass clippings) starting Monday, April 20, 2026 and will continue throughout the Town that week until finished. All yard waste must be at the roadside by 7 a.m. on the first day of collection.

Please note that crews do not use leaf vacuum machines for spring leaf pickup; no loose leaf piles or plastic bags will be picked up.

THERE WILL BE NO SECOND COLLECTION AND NO CALL BACKS.

The intention of the Town’s roadside collection service is for Town residents, excluding the Village of Cayuga Heights and the City of Ithaca, to put a reasonable amount of yard waste (as generated during a normal year) out at the roadside for pick up by the Town’s crews. Clearing of building lots and hedgerows is beyond a normal amount of material. Roadside collection crews reserve the right not to pick up excessively large volumes of brush and improperly piled materials.

WHAT TO DO

  • Bag leaves, garden, and other yard waste in biodegradable paper bags. Fill bags and place on road shoulder. Fold over openings of bags to close. Do not staple or tape. 30-gallon bags are available at Agway, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, and Wegman’s, and other stores in the area.
  • Brush should be placed in neat piles going with the flow of traffic so that the chipping trucks can feed the cut ends first. See diagram at https://lfweb.tompkins-co.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=316976&dbid=9&repo=TownOfIthaca
  • Brush piles should be no larger than a pickup truck load (approximately 2’ H x 4’ W x 8’ L in size). It is not necessary to cut limbs into small pieces.
  • Put out limbs no larger than 8 inches in diameter.
  • Place brush and filled bags of yard waste along road shoulder or at the end of the driveway if no shoulder exists.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Do not tie bundles of brush. Do not place any materials in a ditch. Do not put out metal, rocks, glass, roots, stumps, or lumber scraps. Do not put brush and leaf bags out until the week before collection.

For more information, please call 273-1656 between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may also drop your yard waste off at the Public Works Facility at 114 Seven Mile Drive, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. through 2:30 p.m. year-round. Please sign in at the office.