Please rake your loose leaves into your tree box (or at the curb if there is no tree box) the Sunday before your scheduled collection week. Every street will have at least two scheduled collection weeks. Our crews will only come once during each scheduled week. NEW: Register here  to receive alerts about when DPW’s leaf collection crews will be coming through your neighborhood. Simply provide your address and contact info, and we’ll send you reminders about when to rake your leaves out via text message or email.

Residents may track the progress of DPW’s leaf collection crews throughout the season and view before and after photos of our crews’ work.

Each year DPW collects and composts between five and seven thousand tons of loose leaves. Unfortunately, bagged leaves placed where your trash is collected are not able to be composted and will only be picked up as space in our trucks permits.

As winter approaches, the DC Snow Team will likely be called upon to clear our city's streets. When this happens, our leaf collection trucks must stop collecting leaves to be outfitted with snow plows and salt spreaders. Once the weather improves, the trucks are cleaned and outfitted to resume leaf operations. This process can take several days. Further delays can also be expected when leaves are wet or frozen, as such conditions hamper our equipment's ability fo function properly. We appreciate residents' patience and understanding throughout the season.

Holiday trees and greenery will be collected between January 14 and February 2. Residents in DPW-serviced households should place their trees and greenery where their trash and recyclables are normally collected. Trees and greenery collected during these three weeks (and those brought to the Fort Totten and Benning Road transfer stations) will be composted and made available to residents for free. Please remove all ornaments and lights; do not put trees and greenery in a bag. After February 2, place holiday trees and greenery where your trash is collected. They will be picked up with your trash as space in our trucks permits. Unfortunately, trees and greenery collected after February 2 will not be composted.

As a reminder, apartment and condominium buildings with four or more units are required to provide their tenants with solid waste collections (this includes leaves and holiday trees/greenery).

How You Can Help

• Rake leaves into your treebox space the Sunday before your scheduled collection week.
• Please – leaves only! Tree limbs, bricks, dirt, rocks, etc., will damage the equipment and delay collections.
• Prevent fires, parking problems and flooding by placing leaves in the treebox space, not in the street. When it rains, leaves will clog storm drains causing flooding and polluting our waterways.
• Holiday trees and greenery will be picked up from January 14 to February 2. Please do not put the trees in plastic or cloth bags. Trees collected through February 2 (and those brought to the Fort Totten and Benning Road transfer stations) will be chipped and composted.
• Any trees not collected by February 2 will be picked up as space in trash trucks allow over the following weeks.