Fort Wayne's annual leaf collection is underway. Street Commissioner Brian Shimkus and Public Works Director Shan Gunawardena kicked off the first week of collection on Monday, Nov. 2.
The Street Department will collect leaves in the city's more than 400 neighborhoods through Dec. 19, though weather or the volume of leaves in an area may shift the schedule slightly. North neighborhoods are scheduled Nov. 2-7 and again Nov. 30-Dec. 5, central neighborhoods Nov. 9-14 and Dec. 7-12, and south neighborhoods Nov. 16-21 and Dec. 14-19.
There will be collection on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, but none on Nov. 26-27 for Thanksgiving. Nov. 23-25 is set aside to catch up on weather-related delays.
Residents are asked to rake leaves to the curb or park strip in front of their home, but not into the street, by 7 a.m. on Monday of their collection week. Leaves should not go in trash or recycling carts, over storm drains, or be burned, which the city says violates city code.
Daily updates naming the neighborhoods crews will work in the next day are posted before 3 p.m. at cityoffortwayne.org/leaves, and recorded updates are available at 260-427-2603. Residents can also use biodegradable bags and call 311 to schedule a pickup, with bagged collection running through the end of 2026, weather permitting. Last year, crews collected 17,110 leaf bags and hauled 4,399 truckloads of leaves.
