June 30, 2025
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Here’s when leaf pickup starts in DeKalb, Sycamore

Vacuum trucks will be on routes looking to pick them up

By Daily Chronicle staff report

File photo - Tanner Saban (left) and Jim Young of the DeKalb Streets Division clean up piles from Arrowhead Lane on Monday morning, when the city began its leaf pickup. Some of the leaves they picked up on DeKalb’s north side Monday were left there against ordinances, which state that piles must be on the pathways next to the road to help expedite decomposition. ERIC SUMBERG

Break out the rakes, starting this week and next, as local municipal leaf pickup will begin for residents in DeKalb and Sycamore.

In Sycamore, pickup began Monday, Oct. 18. And in DeKalb, pickup will begin Monday, Oct. 25, and run through the last week of November, weather permitting.

For both cities, leaf piles will be collected from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Residents should rake their leaves into a narrow row parallel to the backside of the curb. Vacuum trucks will be on routes to pick them up. Leaf piles need to be free of debris such as large tree branches and rocks. To help prevent street flooding, do not brush the piles onto the street.

Although crews may be working in your section of the city, it does not mean they will be on your street every day.

Leaves also can be placed in biodegradable paper bags or a dedicated container marked “landscape waste only” to be picked up on garbage days. Bags must weigh less than 50 pounds.

For more information in DeKalb, contact the Public Works office at 815-748-2040. Sycamore Public Works can be reached at 815-895-3545.

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