Prepping For Leaf Disposal In Dubuque

In the next few weeks, we'll be inside that 10-day window when the fall leaves look fantastic. Shortly after, they turn into that seasonal chore that most of us dread. So what do you do with all those leaves?

Over the weekend my family spent a few hours cleaning up the yard, which included putting away the picnic table and pulling all the weeds from one of the flower gardens.

I noticed we've already seen a few leaves starting to fall, so I put my son at the task of raking them into a pile and putting them into a bag. We might as well get ahead of it, right?

If you live in the city of Dubuque, their website suggests if possible you should mulch,  mow, or do your own composting to save yourself money and be environmentally friendly. If you're unable to do so, or you have too much to dispose of yourself, there are other options for yard debris.

You can collect leaves and yard debris and use the city's collection service, which is available every year from April to November.

Items you'd like to remove can be placed in the following items:

• paper yard waste bags that display a single-use yard waste sticker;

• a rigid solid waste container with either a single-use yard waste sticker looped on the handle or a City 2021 annual yard waste decal; or

• in City yard debris tipper carts.

If you have too many leaves to bag up, you can make an appointment with the Public Works Department for a leaf rake-out collection. That means you rake all the leaves to the street by the curb and they'll come by with a giant vacuum and take them all away!

There are some rules, and a $20 minimum charge is added to a customer’s utility bill for a 40-bag equivalent rake-out pickup. Call 563-589-4250 for more information or you can visit the city WEBSITE for all the info.

This service is available now until Wednesday, November 24th, so if you need it, plan accordingly!

Of course, there are also a number of private yard management services locally that also take care of leaf removal, so do what's smart for you and in your budget.