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Leaf Pickup/Yard Waste


Note: ALL YARD WASTE MUST BE PLACED CURBSIDE BY 6AM THE MONDAY OF YOUR PICKUP WEEK.
Placing yard waste in the right place enhances the safety of our roadways and can alleviate flooding. Please help keep inlets near your property clear. Inlets can easily get clogged with leaves and other debris and cause street flooding. Grass clippings blown into the streets can also be hazardous to motorcycles and other vehicles.
Sweeping or blowing leaves or grass clippings into the street is a City violation and doing so could result in a fine.

   2024 PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The City of Springfield is offering bi-weekly CURBSIDE yard waste/leaf pickup to residents within the corporate limits of Springfield. The City is divided into two zones – South and North – and each neighborhood will receive one pickup every other week, throughout the year.

Please Note: Properties located west of Veterans Parkway/north of Iles are now part of the NORTH Zone.

  • South Zone – area south of South Grand Avenue and Old Jacksonville Road, including residential areas around the lake.
  • North Zone – area north of South Grand Avenue and Old Jacksonville Road, including properties west of Veterans Parkway/north of Iles Avenue.

The updated schedule can be found below. You can also download the 2024 calendar year pickup schedule by clicking here.

Residents may use brown paper yard waste bags or hard plastic containers for their yard waste. If using hard plastic containers, please make sure the containers are clearly marked with “YW” or "Yard Waste". Stickers are NOT required for this program.

The City’s vendor for this program is Lake Area Disposal. If you believe your bags/containers were missed, email springfieldyw@lakeareadisposal.com.

If you have questions about the program, please contact the City’s Office of Public Works at 217.789.2255.

   Upcoming Pickup Schedule

A map showing the status of pickups in each Zone is located at the bottom of this page. Yard waste must be placed curbside by 6:00 a.m. of your pickup week.

Those located in the western portion of the zone will be picked up in the beginning half of the week while those located in the eastern part of their zone will be picked up in the later part of the week.

Calendar Year 2024 Dates for Yard Waste 2024 Pickup Weeks, Based on a Monday Start.

North
September 9, September 23
October 7, October 21
November 4, November 18
December 2, December 16, December 30

South
September 3, September 16, September 30
October 14, October 28
November 11, November 25
December 9, December 23

   Be Mindful Where You Place Yard Waste Curbside

The City’s Public Works is reminding residents to please watch where you place your yard waste bags, containers and branches. Any structures around or underneath these items may be damaged during collection. To help maintain the structural integrity of items and for the safety of our crews, please avoid placing yard waste and branches on:

  • Manholes
  • Handholes
  • Junction Boxes
  • Meter Pits
  • Standpipes
  • Sprinkler heads
  • Inlets
  • Drains
  • Poles/Posts
  • Guy Wires
  • General Equipment or Structures
  • Sidewalks
  • Bike Lanes
  • Boulevards

   Contact

If you feel your house or neighborhood was missed during your pick up week, or have questions about the pickup schedule, please email springfieldyw@lakeareadisposal.com.

All other inquiries, please contact Public Works at 217.789.2255 or public.works@springfield.il.us

   Program Details

Yard waste is composed of grass clippings, leaves, weeds, plant trimmings, small amounts of loose soil/dirt, and/or small twigs and branches.

No plastic bags can be used and yard waste must be free of contamination including food, rocks, large branches, flower pots/trays, animal droppings and street waste. It is the responsibility of residents to keep their yard waste free of contaminants. If contaminants are found, yard waste will not be collected.

Metal cans and overweight containers or bags will not be picked up.

Crews will place a sticker on any bag or container that does not meet the criteria and residents will be asked to re-bag their leaves.

Other details about the program:

  • All bags in compliance will be picked up and there is no need to call to schedule the service.
  • Do not remove the bagged leaves from the curb once you place them there.
  • Bags should be placed at the end of driveways or on parkways between the sidewalk and street.
  • Yard Waste bags will NOT be picked up in the alley and must be placed curbside.
  • Leaves should be placed in paper yard waste bags—not grocery sacks or boxes.
  • Do not use any type of tape on the bag to seal it shut as the tape is not recyclable.
  • Plastic bags are not accepted.
  • Yard waste stickers do not need to be placed on the bags during this collection period.
  • Residents should be advised that sweeping leaves into the street is a city violation and doing so could result in a fine.

   Reminder

The City of Springfield yard waste/leaf pick-up is DIFFERENT from the City’s branch pick-up program. Branch pick-up takes place 4 times each calendar year and follows a preset schedule. For more information on the City’s branch pick-up program, click here. As a reminder, smaller branches and twigs may be broken up and placed in yard waste bags or containers for bi-weekly curbside pick-up.

   Yard Waste/Leaf Pickup Map