The leaves have started falling off trees in McHenry County, and municipalities have either started their fall leaf collection programs - or are planning to soon.

McHenry and Woodstock both will vacuum leaves brought to the curb. In Crystal Lake, the city picks up bagged leaves, but does not offer the vacuuming program.

Crystal Lake fall leaf pickup for 2023

Crystal Lake has never had a leaf vacuuming program and instead asks residents to use paper yard waste bags to collect leaves, Michael Magnuson, director of public works, said.

Residents also can use trash bins that are clearly labeled for yard waste only and leave those on the curb on pickup days, he added.

• Program begins on the first Monday in October and ends on the second Friday in December.
• Bags should be placed on the parkway by 7 a.m. and are picked up on the regularly scheduled garbage day.
• The biodegradable paper yard waste bags are available at grocery and hardware stores. Neither the city nor the city’s hauler, Lakeshore Recycling (LRS), provide the bags.
• Bags should not weigh more than 50 pounds, and the city will not pick up leaves left in plastic bags, unmarked garbage bins, or in boxes. More information on the program is available at crystallake.org.

McHenry’s 2023 fall leaf collection program

McHenry changed how it collects leaves this year, Steve Wirch, public works director, said.

In years past, the city came through to vacuum leaves each week, on garbage collection day. Now, the city has been split into zones, giving the refuse company a week to collect in each zone.

“To help ... not get behind we came up with zones. You will get picked up every other week,” Wirch said.

• Began on Oct. 2 and continues through the week of Dec. 8.
• The City is divided into Zone 1 and Zone 2. A map of the zones, with collection dates, are available on the city’s website, www.cityofmchenry.org. The refuse company will pick up curbside leaves in each zone just once during the week-long span.
• All leaf piles must be placed within 4 feet of the roadway edge or curbing by 7 a.m. on the Monday of the zone collection week.
• McHenry residents are asked to not rake or blow leaves into the street, and to not have cars parked at the curb when these collections are being made.

Woodstock’s leaf collection program for 2023

Woodstock’s leaf collection program is done in-house, with public works employees running the city-owned vacuuming machinery, said Brent Aymond, director of public works.

The city always has began its program four week before Thanksgiving because “there are not a lot of leaves on the ground” before that, Aymond said.

In 2022, it wasn’t until the second week of the program when there were leaves to collect, he added. Also, like McHenry, Woodstock asks residents leave their leaves on the curb and not rake into the street.

“That reduces the amount of leaves getting into the storm sewer,” Aymond said.

• Begins Monday, Oct. 23, and runs through the week of Thanksgiving. A full schedule is available at www.woodstockil.gov.
• Each residence gets two pickups over the four-week program. Residents who prefer to bag their leaves should use compostable paper bags and contact public works at 815-338-6118 or by email at pwdept@woodstockil.gov to schedule a pick up.
• If scheduled with the city, Woodstock crews will pick up bagged leaves until noon on Friday, Dec. 15.
• Leaves should be on the parkway by 7 a.m. the Monday of the collection week, be away from mailboxes and off the street. If leaves cannot be reached by equipment, or if they contain brush and garbage, the leaves will not be collected.