Raleigh leaf collection no longer means raking leaves to the curb for a vacuum truck. Since Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the City of Raleigh collects leaves only in the city’s lime-green yard waste cart or in biodegradable paper bags, and yard waste pickup for more than 128,000 households runs every week instead of every other week. Collection days did not change (City of Raleigh).

Photo: The downtown Raleigh skyline from Dorothea Dix Park. Abhiram Juvvadi, 2023-06-25. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.

What changed on September 8

The 2025-26 season was the last for loose-leaf collection with the vacuum trucks, the city says. In its place, Solid Waste Services started weekly yard waste pickup on September 8, 2026 (City of Raleigh).

Before the switch, yard waste went out every other week, on the week opposite recycling. Now it goes out every week. Garbage stays weekly and recycling stays every other week, and each home keeps its day of service. The city counts that as 26 extra yard waste pickups a year (City Manager’s Update, March 27, 2026).

Why Raleigh dropped the vacuum trucks

City Council agreed to the change on June 3, 2025. The city had not changed its leaf collection since 2011, and the new service moves from the Transportation department to Solid Waste Services. “Raleigh has grown so much over the last 10 to 15 years, not only in its population, but in its physical size. Getting to every corner of the city in a timely fashion is a challenge,” Assistant City Manager Michael Moore said when council agreed to it (City of Raleigh).

Three ways to handle leaves now

The city gives residents three options (City of Raleigh):

  1. Bin it. Put leaves loose in the 95-gallon yard waste cart. Only city-issued lime-green carts are collected, and yard waste should not be bagged inside the cart.
  2. Bag it. Set out up to 15 biodegradable paper bags of up to 25 pounds each. Plastic bags are not collected, including ones sold as biodegradable or compostable.
  3. Leave it. Leave the leaves on the lawn.

Limbs and brush can go out as up to five bundles, each no longer than 5 feet, no wider than 18 inches and no heavier than 50 pounds, tied with natural jute twine. Everything goes at the curb by 6 a.m. on pickup day (City of Raleigh).

Free bags, extra carts and overflow

  • Free bags. Each household can pick up one free five-pack of biodegradable bags at the Wilders Grove Solid Waste Services Facility, 630 Beacon Lake Drive. Paper yard bags are also sold at hardware, grocery and big-box stores.
  • A second cart. An extra 95-gallon yard waste cart costs $55, plus $2 a month. It is the only size, and each home may have up to two carts per collection type. Order at 919-996-3245.
  • Overflow. Keep it for next week’s pickup, book a Special Load at 919-996-3245, or take it to the Yard Waste Center at 900 N. New Hope Road, open Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center charges $55 a ton, with a $27.50 minimum.

The monthly yard waste fee is $6.95, part of a $28.50 residential solid waste bill that took effect July 1, 2026 (City of Raleigh).

Who is handled differently

  • Homes in the Needs Assistance Program get cart service only; bags and bundles are not collected from them.
  • Townhomes without room for a cart may use bags and bundles.
  • The yard waste fee is still billed if a household opts out of the cart.

How to check your schedule

Enter your address in the Raleigh Reuse app to see your collection calendar. Questions go to Solid Waste Services at 919-996-3245 or SWS@raleighnc.gov.

What this is not

This is not a new collection day: garbage, recycling and yard waste keep the day each home already had. It is also not the Christmas tree program. Trees do not go in the yard waste cart; the city collects them whole at the curb in a separate pickup from late December through February.