Leaf Collection Begins Monday; 10 Things To Know

Have those leaves starting falling yet from your trees?

South Whitehall's Public Works Department will begin picking them up on Monday.  Pickups will begin in earnest in two weeks. 

Here are 10 things to know about the township's leaf collection program:

1. From now until the first Friday in December, crews will hit each of six areas of the township about five times and follow with a final cleanup.

2. The township has a lot of trees, so crews can't guarantee a specific pick-up date for any neighborhood.

3. Residents must place leaves along the edge of the road by 7 a.m. on Monday of each week. However, leaves will be picked up between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m from Monday through Friday.

4. Leaves will not be collected on private property. Residents must rake leaves to the curbside or gutter line, placing piles about a foot away from the curb or the edge of pavement.

5. Residents must not place any pieces of wood, steel, rocks, or concrete on the leaves to hold them down. That would damage the leaf-picking units.

6. Residents are responsible for emptying any plastic bags or containers of leaves into the gutter area. Leaves can't be picked up by the township's machinery otherwise, and crews won't empty bags or containers of leaves.

7. Crews will not pick up branches, shrubbery, garbage or building materials.

8. Crews will not rake piles of leaves that are between parked cars or under them, so keep vehicles away from the areas where leaves are piled to make pickups easier.

9. Leaves will be taken to a temporary stockpile area in the township and stored through winter. Later, they will be taken to a compost facility and recycled.

10. Last year, township crews collected about 12,434 cubic yards of leaves.

Leaf collections areas are designated on South Whitehall's website. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call the Public Works Department at 610-398-0407.