Wake Forest leaf collection runs October 5 to March 12

Crews began picking up loose leaves from curbs across Wake Forest on Monday, October 5, 2026, and the service runs through Friday, March 12, 2027, according to a town news release posted October 2. The program is bi-monthly, so crews come through each street twice a month.

The dates follow the town’s standing rule. Loose leaf season runs from the first Monday in October through the second Friday in March, according to the town’s leaf collection page. Outside that window, leaves have to be bagged.

How to set out loose leaves

The town asks residents to follow these rules for leaf piles:

• Rake leaves into piles behind the curb, not in the street or gutter, so they do not block traffic or drainage.
• Keep sticks, rocks, pinecones, limbs, garden trimmings, trash and pet waste out of leaf piles.
• Place piles at least 8 feet away from cars, mailboxes, carts, trees and shrubs.
• Put brush in its own pile, separate from the leaves.
• Bag animal waste and put it in the rollout garbage cart.

Limits on brush and limbs

The release repeats the size and volume limits for brush set out during the season:

• Limbs and brush from 1 to 6 inches in diameter can be no longer than 6 feet.
• Limbs and logs thicker than 6 inches must be cut to 2 feet or shorter and can be no more than 10 inches across.
• Brush has to stay clear of fences, walls, water meters, utility poles, mailboxes, fire hydrants and cars.
• The town collects up to 8 cubic yards of brush per residence, about two pickup truck loads.

Crews will not take stumps, debris from clearing a lot or debris left at the curb by private contractors, according to the release.

Tracking the crews

The town runs a leaf collection hotline at 919-435-9582. It is updated weekday mornings by 8 a.m. with the neighborhoods crews plan to work that day, according to the leaf collection page.

Questions about the program go to Chad Hildebrandt, the town’s solid waste manager, at 919-435-9575 or childebrandt@wakeforestnc.gov.

What changes after March 12

Once loose leaf season ends, leaves go back into bags or carts. From mid-March through September, the town picks up leaves only in paper yard waste bags or in reusable containers marked “YW,” with these limits:

• Each residence can set out 20 biodegradable paper bags or 10 marked reusable containers per week.
• Containers cannot be larger than 45 gallons or weigh more than 50 pounds.
• Bags and containers go behind the curb, not in the street or gutter.
• Yard waste does not belong in garbage or recycling carts.