Upper Arlington leaf collection begins the week of October 19, 2026 and runs through the week of December 7, weather permitting, the City of Upper Arlington said in a September 25 notice. Residents may start raking loose leaves to the curb over the October 10-11 weekend, and crews aim to pass every street at least five times (City of Upper Arlington).

Photo: Upper Arlington Municipal Center, Upper Arlington, Ohio. Postdlf, 2005-07-02. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.

The service is free and run by the city’s Public Works Division, which says the dates do not move from year to year because crews fit leaf pickup around other seasonal work. Leaves should go out no earlier than one week before the program starts, and raking to the curb should stop at least one week before it ends (City of Upper Arlington).

How to set leaves out

  • Rake loose leaves close to the edge of the street, on the tree lawn, not in the street or gutter.
  • Keep piles within two feet behind the curb, and away from signposts, light poles, trees and mailboxes.
  • Leave grass clippings, rocks, sticks and other objects out of the piles; the city says they are dangerous for crews.
  • Do not let piles block storm sewers, which raises the risk of flooding in heavy rain.
  • Park at least 15 feet from either side of a leaf pile so the truck and leaf machine can reach it.
  • Other yard waste keeps going out with the weekly yard waste collection.

When crews reach your street

There is no set schedule by street. The city splits Upper Arlington into six districts with one truck in each; every truck works through its district zone by zone, and when all districts are done the next round begins. The goal is at least five full rounds. A Leaf Collection Tracking Map on the city’s Leaf Collection page ↗, updated daily during the program, shows which streets are done in each round.

Before and after the program

Outside the leaf program, bag leaves in approved biodegradable bags or put them in cans marked “Yard Waste” and set them out on your regular trash, recycling and yard waste day. Yard waste can also go free to the Ohio Mulch facility at 4120 Roberts Road; the city asks residents to call 614-921-9330 or check Ohio Mulch’s site for its hours.

What this is not

This is Upper Arlington’s own city service. Columbus and the other suburbs around it set their own leaf and yard waste rules; see the Columbus trash pickup page for the city of Columbus.