Arlington County’s vacuum trucks will start collecting leaves from the side of the road next week.
The county’s annual vacuum leaf collection begins on Monday, Nov. 7 and runs through Friday, Dec. 16. The trucks will make two passes through each Arlington neighborhood during the leaf collection period; signs will be posted in neighborhoods a few days before each pass.
Avoid placing piles of leaves too close to parked cars or storm sewers, officials advise.
Previously there was also a defined period for leaf bag collection. That’s now moot since the county began collecting yard waste year-round. Leaves still must be placed in paper bags, which are currently available for pickup, free of charge, at eight county locations.
Each year Arlington collects about 50,000 cubic yards of leaves.
Next up on the special collection schedule: the annual Christmas tree collection, which will take place from Jan. 2-13, 2017.