Yard Waste - Leaves, Grass, Brush 216-691-7300 pwd@clvhts.com Yard waste, including grass clippings, leaves, twigs, weeds and trimmings from flowers and/or bushes, must be placed in paper bags (Kraft or brown grocery bags). It will NOT be collected in plastic bags, cardboard boxes, animal feed or other food bags. Bags may weigh no more than 40 pounds each. Weight limitations are established in the interest of employee safety and are strictly enforced. Loose leaves that are raked or blown to the tree lawn in the fall will be collected in November (weather permitting). Any other time of year, the leaves must be placed in paper Kraft bags. Do not rake or blow leaves into the street where they are a safety hazard and could also block drains. Leaves that are placed in paper Kraft bags will be collected weekly on the regular collection day. It is illegal to burn leaves in the City of Cleveland Heights. Leaf collection methods: The City uses two collection methods to get the leaf piles off the tree lawn and to the composting site. The leaf vacuum machines use a large tube to vacuum up the leaves and process them through a shredding fan before depositing them in a large box for transport. Each crew has a driver, hose operator and one to two workers with rakes to tidy things up. On heavily tree-lined streets, front-end loaders are used to scoop up the large piles and put the leaves into dump trucks. Each crew consists of several workers using rakes to move the piles into the street for the loader to pick up, a front-end loader operator and two to three dump trucks. Street sweepers come by after the leaves are collected to catch any leftovers and clean the area. Please use caution when approaching the leaf vacuum machine or the front-loader. These vehicles frequently back up and may block the lane of travel. Please drive slowly and carefully in these areas. Also, keep small children and pets away from leaves piled near the street at all times to avoid an accident. Brush, tree and hedge trimmings must be cut and tied securely into bundles no larger than four feet in length and two feet in diameter. Size limitation is established in the interest of employee safety and is strictly enforced. Logs - Cut no more than 18' in length and 6' in diameter and stack. Large piles of loose brush will only be collected by special request. Call the Public Works Department at 216-691-7300 to make arrangements for collection. Leaves and brush must be kept in separate piles on the tree lawn. Combined piles cannot be collected. Christmas trees should be placed on the tree lawn for the regular collection. All plastic bags, nails, lights, ornaments and metal stands must be completely removed.