Moline leaf collection starts Monday, October 12, 2026, when City of Moline crews begin their annual fall leaf vacuuming. The service runs through Friday, December 11, weather permitting, and for the same weeks residents can set out leaves and grass clippings in paper yard waste bags without buying stickers, the city said in a September 28 news post (City of Moline).
Photo: View east on 5th Avenue in downtown Moline, Illinois. Kepper66, 2011-11-16. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.
The city asks residents to use the sticker-free bag collection first rather than wait for the vacuum trucks. It calls leaf vacuuming a supplement to regular yard waste pickup during peak leaf season, not the main way to get rid of leaves.
How leaf vacuuming works
- Moline is split into three collection areas, with crews working in each one Monday through Friday.
- Crews move from north to south, from 1st Avenue to 52nd Avenue, and each day pick up where they stopped the day before.
- To see where crews are working, use the city’s Moline Leaf Collection Map or call the leaf hotline at 309-524-2407.
Sticker-free yard waste bags, October 12 to December 11
- Leaves and grass clippings go in biodegradable paper yard waste bags of 30 gallons or less.
- Bags go to the curb by 6:30 a.m. on your regular collection day, at least three feet from your sanitation carts.
- Outside this window, each bag needs a yard waste sticker, which costs $2. Stickers are sold at the Moline Finance Department, 619 16th Street, and at Trevor Ace Hardware, 2842 16th Street; Hy-Vee, 4218 Avenue of the Cities; and Jewel-Osco, 2010 1st Street A.
Burning is not allowed
Burning leaves, tree branches or grass clippings is prohibited in Moline. The city also suggests mulching or composting leaves instead of setting them out.
What this is not
This is the City of Moline’s own program. Leaf and yard waste rules elsewhere in the Quad Cities come from each city, and the sticker-free window applies only to Moline’s bag collection.
