“Bag Your Leaves” – New Shorter Leaf Collection Season Planned for Moline

Posted 09/22/06

The leaves are beginning to fall, and the City of Moline is making preparation for its annual leaf collection program. During review of the leaf collection program in 2005, the Moline City Council voted to shorten the leaf collection period in an effort to control rising costs of the program, and to provide public works staff with time to focus on preventative maintenance on city streets in the fall. The following changes are being announced for the 2006 leaf collection season:

Bag Your leaves for FREE!
The City of Moline will provide free leaf bag collection for Moline residents from October 16 – December 15th. The normal $1.50 sticker fee will be waived during this time. Leaves must be placed in large paper yard waste bags and placed at the curb on normal garbage collection day. Residents should set bags at least three feet away from the garbage carts so they will not interfere with the automated collection of garbage. A separate yard waste truck will pick up the leaf bags. Yard waste bags are available at Moline hardware and grocery stores.

New Shorter Leaf Vacuum Season
Moline’s leaf vacuuming program will run November 1 through December 15, 2006. The City will not begin vacuuming leaves until November 1st. To insure city collection of leaves, residents are strongly encouraged to bag their leaves and take advantage of the free leaf bag collection period, rather than wait for conventional vacuum collection.

For leaf vacuuming purposes, the City has been divided into three areas. As in prior years, two vacuuming crews will be working in each area Monday – Friday beginning at the Mississippi River, working their way south to the Rock River. Crews will begin working at the location they ended the previous day. Residents are asked to be patient as scheduled pickups may change due to inclement weather or volume. Residents may call the Leaf Hotline at 797-0425 to hear a pre-recorded message on the location of the vacuums daily, or by visiting the city’s website at www.moline.il.us for the daily location.

Residents are reminded to rake leaves close to the road, but not on roadway surface. Do not include rocks, sticks or other debris in leaf pile. Refrain from parking vehicles in front of leaves during collection period as this makes it difficult to maneuver the vacuums and the heat from the engine can ignite the leaves.

Leaf Burning
Moline residents may burn dry leaves, lawn refuse and twigs on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, dependent upon weather and safety conditions. Burning is permitted during daylight hours only, provided the prevailing wind speed is no greater than 15 miles per hour. Leaf fires must be kept at least 25 feet from all building structures. A garden hose must be nearby and residents are required to keep watch over the fire. Burning is not allowed during rainy, wet or drought conditions.
Residents with questions regarding items to be burned or if they are unsure if it is safe to burn, may call the Fire Administrative office at (309) 797-0416, Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, or (309) 797-0422 after hours and on weekends.

New Leaf Disposal Video
The City has produced a short educational video that explains the leaf disposal options available. Moline residents can view this video on Mediacom Channel 18 daily at: 6 am, 9 am, Noon, 3 pm, 7:00 pm and 11 pm. For more information on leaf disposal options, click here. 

Of the three leaf disposal options available in Moline, residents are encouraged to choose bagging, not only for the cost savings, but also for environmental reasons. Bagging leaves as opposed to burning also helps improve the air quality in Moline neighborhoods.