How to dispose of leaves depends less on the leaves than on where you live: some cities take them in a green compost cart, some run a fall drop-off or curbside leaf program for a few weeks, and some states ban yard waste from the trash altogether. In every case the leaves end up as compost only if they reach a composting program, which usually means paper bags, loose leaves or a compost cart, not a plastic bag in the trash.
Photo: A leaf rake and a pile of leaves in autumn. David Goehring, 17 December 2009. CC BY 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.
What is true everywhere
Leaves are organic material. The US Environmental Protection Agency lists leaves, grass clippings and yard trimmings among the materials that composting turns into a soil amendment, and it names dry leaves as one of the carbon-rich “browns” a backyard compost pile needs. Composting them keeps them out of landfills and trash incinerators.
There is no federal rule for leaves in the household trash. The rule is set by your state and your city. Minnesota is an example of a state that bans it outright: state law says yard waste may not be placed in mixed municipal solid waste, and in the Twin Cities metro area leaves delivered to a compost site in a plastic bag must be in a certified compostable bag or emptied on the spot.
The fall programs cities run have a few things in common:
- They run for a set number of weeks, usually from October into December.
- They want leaves loose, in paper leaf bags or in a compost cart, without trash mixed in.
- Plastic bags are refused or must be emptied, because they do not break down in compost.
- Branches and brush often go through a separate program, or are refused.
Where it turns local
The season, the bags and the sites differ from city to city.
Denver: LeafDrop sites and the green cart
Denver’s LeafDrop program runs from October 5 to November 25, 2026. Three weekday sites are open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.: the Cherry Creek Transfer Station at 7301 E. Jewell Ave., Denver Parks and Recreation at 3685 Havana St. and the Central Platte Campus at 1271 W. Bayaud Ave. Six weekend sites open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22.
Leaves must be in paper bags at every site except Cherry Creek, which also takes loose leaves and hitched trailers 6 feet long or less. Leaves brought in plastic bags must be emptied on site. Denver residents can download a coupon for a free five-pack of paper leaf bags at participating Ace Hardware stores, and compost customers can put loose leaves in their green carts. The same sites take pumpkins.
The Denver trash and recycling guide covers the compost cart and the rest of the city’s collection.
Philadelphia: mechanical collection and bagged drop-off
The 2026 Philly Leaf Recycling Program runs from Monday, November 2, to Saturday, December 19. In neighborhoods with heavy leaf cover, crews collect leaves mechanically one week each, from Oak Lane and Frankford (November 2 to 6) to Northwest Philadelphia (December 7 to 18). Residents there rake leaves into the street by the curb by 7 a.m. on their collection day, without bagging or piling them, and move their cars off the street if they can.
Everywhere else, bagged leaves go to drop-off sites on five Saturdays, November 7 and 21 and December 5, 12 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or to a sanitation convenience center. The city asks for large brown biodegradable paper bags, with no brush, tree limbs, trash or recycling mixed in. The leaves go to the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center. Bagged leaves set out with the regular trash are collected but not composted.
The Philadelphia trash pickup schedule shows the convenience centers and the city’s other collection rules.
Saint Paul: never in the garbage cart
Saint Paul says yard waste, leaves included, cannot go in the garbage or recycling cart. Residents can pay for a seasonal yard waste cart, set out a certified compostable bag or a tied bundle next to the garbage cart for $4.25 each, or take leaves to a Ramsey County yard waste site.
The county sites are free for Ramsey County residents, who may be asked for proof of residency, and take leaves, grass, pumpkins and garden waste. They do not take bags of any kind, plastic or paper: empty the leaves into the pile and take the bags home. From April to November the sites are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In December they move to weekend-only winter hours. Saint Paul sites include Battle Creek, Frank and Sims, Midway and Summit Hill.
The Saint Paul trash pickup schedule covers the yard waste subscription and the rest of the city’s service.
How to find your local answer
Search your city’s waste or public works site for leaf collection, yard waste or LeafDrop, and check:
- the dates of the fall program, since many run only from October into December;
- whether leaves go loose, in paper bags or in a compost cart;
- whether there is a fee per bag or for a yard waste subscription;
- whether your state or city bans yard waste from the trash.
If your city has no leaf program, dry leaves can go in a backyard compost pile, where EPA’s home composting guide uses them as the carbon-rich layer. The drop-off locations catalog lists yard waste sites by state.
What this is not
This guide is about fallen leaves from a home yard. Branches, brush and tree trimmings usually go through a separate brush or bulk program; see bulk pickup rules by city. The residential programs here are not for businesses: Ramsey County, for example, sends lawn care and landscaping companies to commercial yard waste sites.
Pumpkins have their own guide: pumpkin disposal after Halloween.
