CITY MAKING PLANS FOR ANNUAL LEAF COLLECTIONS

The Cape Girardeau Public Works Department will again implement its citywide leaf collection program, beginning Oct. 28.

Street Superintendent Emmett Baker said street crews will make two trips through every city neighborhood from Oct. 28 until the program's projected completion, Dec. 20.

"Last year we had quite a few days where rain slowed us down," Baker said. "We're hoping that the weather will cooperate with us this year.

"We hope the people will be patient with us. If we get some bad weather, it takes a little longer to get around and a little more effort to pick up (leaves).

"We will get there and we will pick up the leaves, but we just need people to be a little patient with us."

Many of the leaves are yet to turn on trees in Cape Girardeau, but Baker said that by the time the collection program starts, there should be plenty of leaves to collect.

"I think if we get another good frost, they'll start to turn pretty quickly," he said. "I hope that they fall gradually so that we can pick them up and residents don't have to wait too long."

Baker said the city will publish collection routes in the newspaper prior to picking the leaves up. The city will be divided into four zones, with collection in each zone taking a full week.

"We'll publish the routes the Friday before we run them so that residents can rake their leaves over the weekend," Baker said.

Once all four zones are covered, Baker said, the leaf collection crews will start collections again in the first zone.

"With everything going well, we hope to be finished with the whole program by Dec. 20," he said.

The street crews will collect leaves that residents rake to the edge of their lots along the curb. Leaves shouldn't be raked into gutters, Baker said.

The street superintendent said this year's collection program will be altered in an effort to improve efficiency.

He said two collection trucks will work with each vacuum-type leaf collection machine. The city has two such machines. Baker said that in the past, only one truck was used to collect leaves for each machine.

"We found out that we had a lot of time lost with one truck going back and forth and dumping the leaves," he said. "We're trying to eliminate that time loss."

The leaf machines also mulch the leaves. Because of new state landfill restrictions, yard waste no longer can be placed in landfills. But Baker said, the "recyclable" leaves make excellent compost and many residents request the mulched yard waste for use in their gardens.

"Every year, several people ask for it, and even if they want several loads of it, we make sure that they get it," Baker said. "What we don't use this fall, we stockpile and then after the leaf season, we get into a program of hauling it off.

"Probably next year, or in the near future, we'll get into composting it."

Baker estimated that up to 85 percent of the city's residents take advantage of the free leaf-collection service.

"You always have 15 percent or so of the people that will burn them, and a percentage that won't rake them at all," he said. "But most of the residents use our pickup.

"The money for the program comes out of the street department budget, so it's something we provide as a service for the residents."

Baker said residents who choose to burn their leaves must comply with the city's burning law, which restricts burning to the daylight hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Leaves must be burned on the residents' property, not in the gutter or street.

"Also, if a resident bags a small amount and puts it out, the sanitation department will pick that up," Baker added.