FAQs

Recycle The Fall

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Q. Why aren’t leaves and other garden/lawn debris collected year-round?
A. There is no commercial composter in the Treasure Valley capable of processing such a large volume of material. Boise City encourages residents to compost and recycle yard waste at home in order to reduce landfill wastes, air pollution, and use of fossil fuels.
Q. What are the dates and hours of collection?
A. The leaf collection program begins November 5, 2012 and runs through November 30, 2012. Leaves are collected on your regular trash day between 7:00 am and 9:00 pm. If you need to dispose of leaves outside the dates of the curbside collection period, you can place them in your trash cart. You may also use a trash can with an Overflow Sticker attached.
Q. Where can I use the discount coupon for leaf bags?
A. Many retailers participate in this program. Check with your favorite retailer to see if they participate in this program.
Q. What happens to the leaves I put out in paper bags?
A. They are collected by Republic Services (formerly Allied Waste) trucks and hauled to a designated area at the Ada County Hidden Hollow Landfill where staff manage the mountain of leaves.The finished material will be used at the landfill for revegetation projects. The paper bags biodegrade along with the leaves.
Q. Do I have any alternatives for leaf recycling outside the curbside collection dates?
A. Residents are encouraged to reuse leaves at home by chopping them with a mower or shredder and adding them to your compost pile or directly to garden beds as mulch. Using shredded leaves as mulch adds nitrogen in the spring to replenish what was utilized for decomposition.
Q. What can I put in the leaf bags?
A. Use the bags for leaves and vegetative material from your garden. If you have leftover grass clippings and small branches from trimming your shrubs, it’s okay to mix them in with the leaves. Please save the more substantial woody material for the curbside Christmas tree collection program because those materials are put through a chipper. Curbside collection of trees and branches takes place January 7 – January 11, 2013.
Q. I’ve always set my leaves out in plastic bags in the past. Can I do so this year?
A. You can use plastic bags for your leaves, but you must place the bags inside your trash cart. You may also place the bags in a trash can, but you must attach an Overflow Sticker. In either case, the leaves will be buried in the landfill as trash rather than composted. Contact the Utility Billing Department at 384-3735 if you need to purchase Overflow Stickers.
Q. What’s the best way to prepare my leaves for curbside pick-up?
A. Set the bags out on your regular trash day by 7:00 a.m. with the bags open so the contents are visible. Separate the bags from your trash cart by three feet or more. The leaves will be collected by a separate Republic Services truck between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Q. I didn’t receive a discount coupon for leaf bags in the mail. What should I do?
A. Call us at 384-3901. We will send you a coupon.
Q. A trash truck just picked up the leaves I collected in paper bags. How can the leaves be composted if they are mixed with trash?
A. The Republic Services trucks run two separate routes Monday through Friday during the leaf and tree program. In some cases they collect the yard waste first. In other cases they run the trash route first. They use the same trucks, but they do not mix properly-prepared yard waste and trash.
Q. Can I put bags of leaves out during the curbside tree collection program?
A. No. Only Christmas trees, branches, and tree limbs are accepted. Those materials are put through a chipper, and a private contractor markets the material. The contractor accepts only woody material.
Q. Can I put my leaves and garden waste in my blue recycling cart?
A. No. The recycle cart is only for the paper, metal, and plastics described on the sticker on the underside of the blue cart lid and in the Trash and Recycling Handbook. No yard waste belongs in the blue cart at any time.