NEWS RELEASE TO: News Media FROM: City of Holland Street Department DATE: September 22, 2015 SUBJECT: City of Holland Leaf Pickup Program for 2015 Beginning on the weekend of October 3, 2015 Holland City Residents will be allowed to rake leaves into street gutters or onto the shoulders of roads for pickup by City crews. Citizens are reminded that Only Leaves will be picked up. Leaf piles left in yard areas cannot be picked up due to the potential damage to yards, sprinkler systems, or landscaping by the trucks and equipment used in the program. The equipment used needs a certain amount of room to work so we ask that leaf piles not be placed near utility poles, guy wires, fire hydrants, mail boxes or other obstructions. In the Fall of each year only leaves are collected for recycling. If branches or other debris are in your leaf piles, they will not be picked up and must be disposed of by other means. Residents are reminded that the next curbside pickup of branches will not occur until the Spring Yard Clean-Up Program (March 19 – April 9, 2016). *If you have branches or other lawn debris, you may call 355-1335 and request a Project Pride Day Coupon. These coupons may be available until mid-December and are available to Holland City Residents to take 1 load of refuse to Chef Container at A-4376 60th Street (Graafschap Road). Residents are asked to be good neighbors by limiting their leaf removal activities to their own property per Ordinance Section 19-7 Sec. 19-7. Littering-Depositing waste materials on streets, etc.; depositing snow or ice on sidewalks, etc. (a) Depositing, etc., on street, etc. No person shall place, deposit, throw, scatter or leave in any street, highway, lane, alley, public place or square, or on the private property of another, any grass clippings, bush trimmings, leaves, refuse, waste or other such materials; provided, however, that such materials may be deposited on city streets as directed by the city during designated city-wide clean-up periods. (b) Transporting or dumping so as to litter stream, etc. No person shall transport or dump any refuse or other waste materials in such a manner as to cause the littering of any stream or public place, or the private property of another, or to cause the obstruction of any ditch, drain, culvert or gutter. This year’s leaf pickup program will continue through the weekend of November 14, 2015. In order to minimize drain obstructions and cleanup costs, pickup priority is given to streets with curb and gutter. Residents of curbless streets should note that it could be several weeks before their leaves are picked up, and may wish to schedule their raking accordingly. While every effort is made to pick up leaf piles as quickly as possible, parents are encouraged to restrain children from playing in the piles, and drivers are urged to exercise caution in approaching leaf piles. City of Holland Street Dept.