Turning Over Old Leaves

Got leaves?

Join the club.

In 2014, more than 3,370 tons were processed by East Hampton Town alone—and it’s pretty clear the trees dropped a few new ones in 2015.

Southampton Town will start picking up leaves left curbside on November 30. The leaves need to be bagged—in biodegradable paper bags only—and no sticks or brush. Residents over age 73 can put the leaves out loose if they call the Highway Department before November 30 to register, and vouchers are available for people whose landscapers will be taking leaves to transfer stations on their behalf.

Southampton Town’s “leaf program hotline” number is (631) 702-2585.

East Hampton is an outlier where curbside pick-up of leaves is concerned. Residents have to take leaves to the recycling center themselves, or hire a landscaper to do it, because the town eliminated its leaf pick-up program in 2011.

The good news is that there’s no limit on the amount of leaves residents can drop off—provided they do it with a recycling permit. Also, East Hampton gives out free mulch made with the leaves that have been left.

The Village of Southampton will accept loose leaves piled neatly along the edge of the road through December 30, but it warns contractors not to place them in any village right-of-way. No mixed piles, grass clippings, or pruning or clearing debris will be accepted, and neither will plastic bags.

Construction debris, stumps, rocks, bricks, stakes and fence posts, potted plants and the like can seriously injure crew members and machinery and will not be accepted, the village notes on its website.

The Sag Harbor Village Highway Department will collect leaves weekly through November, but not on private roads—and, again, no brush. In East Hampton Village, leaf pick-up started in mid-October and will continue through the second week of December. As in other municipalities, so it goes in East Hampton Village: no leaves left on roads or on top of storm drains or fire hydrants.

The Village of Westhampton Beach continues to accept brush as well as leaves, as long as they’re in separate piles at the curb by November 30. Branches cannot be more than 3 inches in diameter and 3 feet in length, grass clippings will not be accepted, and piles of mixed brush and leaves will be “bypassed.”

The village warns that leaving the piles on the road itself is a serious traffic concern and encourages those who bag to use biodegradable paper ones, which are available at the village office.

In the Village of Quogue, leaf pick-up now under way ends December 15. Brush will not be accepted at the curb, nor will mixtures including grass clippings, twigs and non-leafy lawn debris. Plastic bags will not be accepted.