By Brian Trompeter
The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) temporarily has suspended plans to discontinue vacuum-leaf service following this winter’s collection season, and will continue to pick up leaves at least through the 2025-26 winter season, officials said Oct. 26.
DPWES staff earlier had submitted a proposal to the Board of Supervisors recommending discontinuation of the leaf service, which is provided to about 25,000 households, or 5 percent of the county’s total. Those customers reside in nine areas of the county, including eight clustered on the county’s eastern edge and one located in Dranesville District near Sterling.
County staff this summer said the DPWES leaf-collection program during the last winter season experienced collection delays, staffing shortages, inclement weather and an unusually high volume of leaves.
The county pays for the leaf-collection by charging customers who receive the service a property tax of 1.2 cents per $100 assessed valuation. That tax would end if the leaf program were eliminated. County officials in January billed residents for this winter’s leaf-collection season and DPWES planned to provide it as scheduled.
County officials this summer cited customers’ safety concerns about leaves placed along the street to be collected. Residents said the leaves sometimes caused flood hazards by blocking storm drains or forced pedestrians to walk into the roadway. They also expressed concern about slipping and falling on the leaves and said leaf piles reduced the amount of on-street parking.
DPWES officials this summer said the department expected to incur about a $900,000 deficit for this winter’s leaf-collection season, plus another $400,000 at the end of fiscal 2024. They attributed the costs to hiring an additional contractor and paying overtime to county employees and temporary support workers.
But an online survey subsequently conducted by DPWES found most respondents favored keeping the service. Many of those current customers also needed more information about alternative leaf-management methods, officials said. Because plans to stop the service are in abeyance, no public hearing will be needed this calendar year to discuss the matter, officials said.
Officials soon will notify residents receiving the leaf service via mail about the program’s status. DPWES also will begin an outreach campaign to give residents information on more environmentally beneficial alternatives to manage their properties’ leaves on-site.
If residents voluntarily wish to withdraw from the vacuum-leaf service, they can use the petition process to do so, county officials said.
For updates on this matter, visit engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/leaf-collection. For additional information on the vacuum leaf program, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/leaf.
Fairfax County Offers ‘PumpkinPalooza’ to Encourage Jack-o-Lantern Composting: Rather than putting their Jack-o-Lanterns in the trash after Halloween, local residents should consider composting the decaying squashes through the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program’s annual “PumpkinPalooza” event, county officials said.
Residents may drop off their pumpkins through Nov. 17 at the I-66 Transfer Station, 4618 West Ox Road in Fairfax, and the I-95 Landfill Complex, 9850 Furnace Road in Lorton. Both locations are open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
All pumpkins and squashes being dropped off must be free of all decorations, such as paint, glitter and candle wax, which cannot be composted.
To learn more about composting and PumpkinPalooza, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/composting-organic-waste.
