Brush and Leaf Collection in Metro Nashville
2009 - 2010 Bagged Leaf Collection Alert
Due to reductions in personnel, Metro Public Works will pick up bagged leaves along with regular brush route collections only. No special leaf collections are planned this season. Leaves can be put out with limbs and other brush in biodegradable paper bags ONLY. Plastic bags will not be accepted.
Residents can dispose of bagged leaves for free at the Bordeaux Mulch Facility, 1400 County Hospital Road. However, the facility will not accept plastic bags; if you take leaves there in plastic, you will be asked to empty the leaves and take the plastic bag with you.
Another suggestion is to recycle leaves with backyard composting, which is nature's way of recycling yard waste. It is a process that naturally occurs when organic materials are returned to the soil through decomposition. Call 880-1000 to learn more.
Sign up to receive an email reminder from Public Works. Email notifications are sent to brush subscribers approximately one week, then again the day before, each route is scheduled to begin.
Residents in Metro Nashville’s Urban and General Services Districts have their brush and yard waste collected three times a year on a rotation schedule along 12 routes. Instead of chippers, Metro Public Works uses knuckle boom trucks equipped with a mechanical arm that lifts brush piles up and into a trailer that’s pulled behind the truck. This method of collecting brush is quieter and safer than using wood chippers, and allows Metro to provide quicker and more efficient service.
To assist citizens who need brush disposal more often than the three collections provided annually by Metro, Public Works offers free brush disposal for Davidson County residents at the Bordeaux Mulch Facility, 1400 County Hospital Road, and the Omohundro Recycle Convenience Center at 1019 Omohundro Place (off Lebanon Rd and Fessler's Lane).
BRUSH DO’S AND DON’TS
Believe it or not, there is a right way and a wrong way to set out your brush for pick-up.
RIGHT
WAY:
You need to leave enough room for the mechanical arm of the knuckle boom truck to operate. You can stack your piles end to end, as shown above, or on top of one another. In general, height doesn’t matter, but all brush needs to be close enough to the curb or roadway for the truck to reach it. Only the driver travels with the truck; no other crew members to move piles or separate items that don’t belong in a brush pile.
WRONG
WAY:
Brush piles should not be placed close to mailboxes, utility poles, fences, trees or other stationary objects.
Place only limbs, branches and true yard waste by the curb for brush crews. Lumber, household trash and other types of debris found in your brush pile means it won’t get picked up.
Well-meaning citizens placed these brush piles too far from the roadway for the knuckle boom truck to reach them.
To ensure that your brush will be picked up, don’t forget to follow these important Do’s and Don’ts and other brush collection guidelines.
Metro Brush and Leaf Collection Guidelines
When setting out brush and leaves for collection, be sure to follow
the guidelines below.
| DO | DON'T |
|---|---|
| Put brush out before the first day the trucks are scheduled to be in your Area. | Do not stack brush against trees, fences, utility poles or other stationary objects.* |
| Place your brush where your garbage is collected – at the curb if your trash is collected there or in the alley if you have alley trash collection. | Do not place brush, clippings and/or leaves where they can be washed into a storm sewer, catch basin or stream and clog up drainage systems. |
| Leaves can be put out with your limbs and other brush in brown paper bags ONLY. Plastic bags will not be accepted. | Do not include limbs that are more than 4 inches in diameter. No stumps accepted. |
*REMEMBER: The mechanical arm of the knuckle boom truck needs enough room to lift the brush pile up and into the trailer that is pulled behind the truck. Only the driver travels with each truck; no other crew members are there to move piles or separate items that don’t belong in a brush pile.
Brush from commercial tree and landscaping services must be disposed of by the company and not left for collection by Metro. (According to Metro Code 10.20.085.) If you hire someone to cut your brush, be sure that the cost of hauling the brush and other debris away is included in the price.
Brush is collected by Metro in the Urban Services District and the General Services District but NOT in satellite / self-incorporated cities such as Forest Hills, Berry Hill, and Belle Meade. Residents of those areas should contact their city officials for the services available.
Remember, you can compost leaves in your own backyard; visit our composting pages to find out how.
For more information about Metro's brush collection service,
please see our collection map and schedule,
or call 862-8750.
