Politics & Government

City of Evanston Yard Waste Collection & Rules

A notice from the city of Evanston.

Fall is here and that brings with it leaves. The City of Evanston would like to remind residents of a few rules they should follow in dealing with leaf disposal and yard waste.

Leaves should be raked and placed in appropriate bags with yard waste stickers affixed, placed in a City of Evanston yard waste cart or used in home composting.

Yard waste stickers are $1.75 each and must be affixed to each yard waste paper bag and/or tree trimming bundles for pick-up. Place yard waste in paper yard waste bags, such as 30 gallon kraft paper lawn waste bags, available in packages at local stores. Plastic bags will not be collected. Yard waste stickers can be purchased at the Morton Civic Center (2100 Ridge Ave.), all Evanston Dominick's and Jewel stores, Whole Foods, Lemoi Ace Hardware, the Chalet in Wilmette, Harold's True Value Hardware and Home Depot.

Special pickup fees for yard waste collection will be assessed after 48 hours for bags without stickers, three (3) bags will be charged at a rate equal to $25, with each additional three (3) bags being charged $10.

Alternatively, residents can have an unlimited amount of yard waste collected from a wheeled cart which can be purchased from the city at a rate of $25 per year per cart. Residents may purchase a yard waste cart through the city for $82.50. Yard waste fees are assessed annually and will appear on your water bill.

Compost and mulch to recycle the earth's nutrients, save money, and conserve vanishing landfill space. For information on composting at your home, see this online brochure: Composting Brochure.

Please do not rake or push leaves onto the sidewalk or into the street, this is unlawful and may cause street flooding during a rain. Leaves placed into the street block the flow line of storm water along the curb. Additionally, the leaves frequently form a mat over the open grate drainage structures preventing storm water from entering the sewer system. Both of these situations lead to undesirable street flooding conditions during rain events.

The City of Evanston's Streets and Sanitation employees give notice of violation for residents that blow, rake or dump leaves into the streets obstructing the right of way. Dumping landscape debris in the street is treated like a fly dump and special pick-up fees will be applied to the water bills of violators. Residents are encourages to report violations via 3-1-1.

Backpack mounted and hand-held gasoline-powered leaf blowers are permitted starting October 1st through December 14th from 7am-9pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on weekends.

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