Leaves, Grass Clippings and Yard Waste

BULK WASTE AND YARD WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE UPDATE
The City of Chesapeake resumed normal bulk waste and yard waste collection services on Tuesday, April 12. Bulk waste collection requests can be made by calling the Customer Contact Center at 757-382-CITY, online at www.CityofChesapeake.net/Requests, or through the Chesapeake Service Request app. Requests must be made no later than the weekday before your normal collection day. It is not necessary to submit a request for bagged yard waste collection. Demand for both bulk and yard waste collections is expected to be high, so brief delays may occur. Items should be placed at the curb no earlier than three days prior to your normal collection day. Once your items have been placed at the curbside, please leave items at the curb until they are collected, which could be after your normal collection day. These requests will once again count towards your 12 collections per year. Please be sure to follow bulk and bagged yard waste rules and limitations when placing your items at the curb. Bagged yard waste should go in a 35-gallon clear plastic bag and should only include materials, such as grass clippings and leaves. Bags filled with dirt, soil, sod, clay, rocks, or mulch will not be collected. Large yard waste, including limbs and branches, are treated as bulk waste, and do require a collection request. Learn more about waste disposal here: www.CityofChesapeake.net/WasteGuide

BULK WASTE AND YARD WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE UPDATE

The City of Chesapeake resumed normal bulk waste and yard waste collection services on Tuesday, April 12. Bulk waste collection requests can be made by calling the Customer Contact Center at 757-382-CITY, online at www.CityofChesapeake.net/Requests, or through the Chesapeake Service Request app.

Requests must be made no later than the weekday before your normal collection day. It is not necessary to submit a request for bagged yard waste collection. Demand for both bulk and yard waste collections is expected to be high, so brief delays may occur. Items should be placed at the curb no earlier than three days prior to your normal collection day. Once your items have been placed at the curbside, please leave items at the curb until they are collected, which could be after your normal collection day. These requests will once again count towards your 12 collections per year.

Please be sure to follow bulk and bagged yard waste rules and limitations when placing your items at the curb. Bagged yard waste should go in a 35-gallon clear plastic bag and should only include materials, such as grass clippings and leaves. Bags filled with dirt, soil, sod, clay, rocks, or mulch will not be collected. Large yard waste, including limbs and branches, are treated as bulk waste, and do require a collection request.

Learn more about waste disposal here: www.CityofChesapeake.net/WasteGuide

Leaves and Grass Clippings

Never rake leaves or grass clippings into storm drains or ditches. This will create blockages and lead to flooding in your neighborhood. It can also cause environmental issues as the leaves and grass clippings make their way to local waterways and cause algae blooms, killing off aquatic life.

The best way to handle leaves and grass clippings is to just mulch them into the lawn using your mower. As the pieces break down, they'll release water and much needed nutrients to naturally fertilize your lawn.

If you must bag your leaves and grass clippings, place them in clear 35-gallon plastic bags and put them at the curb on your regular garbage day. Residents do not need to call and request collection of bagged yard waste. The limit is 30 clear plastic 35-gallon bags each week, except in November and December when you may put out 50 each week. Please do not include dirt, rock, sod, soil, clay, compacted earth or mulch in these bags, as the weight of these bags pose danger to workers attempting to pick up and place them into trucks, and are prone to tearing and spilling contents. Bags found to contain these heavy materials will not be collected. Public Works will ONLY collect 50 bags per household per week -- please do not place more than 50 bags at curbside for pickup.

Other Yard Waste

Non-bagged yard waste (bushes, shrubbery, tree branches/limbs) requires a bulk waste collection request (which can be done online or by calling 757-382-CITY) and must adhere to the following requirements:

Must have been generated on the resident's property
Must be bundled/stacked in a pile no larger than 4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 6 feet long
Limit to one 4'x4'x6' bundle/stack per week
Tree limbs and tree trunks can be no larger than 6 inches in diameter
Root balls cannot be wider than 6 inches in diameter or longer than 6 feet (please remove as much dirt as possible)
Place bundle/stack at least three feet away from any obstruction (mailbox, trash containers, cars) and separate from any household bulk items
Bundle/stack should not block sidewalks, traffic or the flow of stormwater